Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 1.4% – Here’s Why

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares fell 1.4% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $397.02 and last traded at $405.42. 7,151,892 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average session volume of 8,641,803 shares. The stock had previously closed at $411.04.

Key Western Digital News

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: The artificial-intelligence boom is generating substantial demand for economical, high-capacity data storage, supporting the long-term outlook for HDD manufacturers. Western Digital could benefit if AI-related storage demand translates into sustained orders. Seagate vs. Western Digital: Which HDD Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts continue to see significant upside after the recent decline, arguing that rising storage demand and improving industry fundamentals may create a buying opportunity. Western Digital Fell Nearly 20% Over The Last 3 Months
• Neutral Sentiment: A weaker technology tape and sharply higher Treasury yields are pressuring growth and technology shares broadly. Upcoming Federal Reserve minutes could add further volatility by influencing interest-rate expectations. Stock Market Today: Dow Tumbles 500 Points
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Toshiba’s planned HDD-capacity expansion could increase future competition and weaken pricing or market-share expectations for Western Digital and Seagate. A reported bidding contest involving Seagate and TDK’s magnetic-heads business is adding to uncertainty over industry supply-chain control. Seagate, Western Digital stocks slip as Toshiba’s AI storage push rattles sector
• Negative Sentiment: Unlike Micron and SanDisk, which have secured much of their output in advance, Western Digital is viewed as having less protection from near-term supply tightness. That explains why WDC has lagged the memory rally. SanDisk and Micron Rise as Tight Memory Supply Outruns a Softer Tech Tape
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Western Digital from “strong buy” to “hold,” while technical commentary warns that the stock remains in a bearish trend after retreating substantially from its high. Western Digital Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Summit Insights lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Fox Advisors lowered Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.4%

The stock’s 50 day moving average is $462.94 and its 200-day moving average is $473.39. The company has a market cap of $139.74 billion, a PE ratio of 16.75, a P/E/G ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.66 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 432 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total value of $194,918.40. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 111,030 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,096,736. This trade represents a 0.39% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and supplies data-storage products and solutions. The company’s portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs) used in cloud and enterprise data centers, personal computers, network-attached storage systems and other applications that require high-capacity data storage.

Western Digital markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD and Ultrastar. Its offerings include enterprise and data-center HDDs, storage products for business and consumer systems, and related technologies designed to help organizations store, manage and access large volumes of data.

Founded in 1970, Western Digital has evolved from a maker of electronic components into a global data-storage company.