Insider Selling: Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $306,660.00 in Stock

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 108,928 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,392,640. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Western Digital Trading Down 6.4%

WDC traded down $24.32 on Thursday, reaching $354.19. The company had a trading volume of 13,243,410 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,666,783. The company has a fifty day moving average of $438.14 and a 200-day moving average of $480.05. The company has a market capitalization of $132.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a PEG ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 2.11. Western Digital Corporation has a one year low of $121.71 and a one year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. Research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were paid a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, up 55% year over year, while GAAP net income reached $1.78 billion and diluted EPS was $4.63. Non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 exceeded analyst expectations by approximately 13%. Western Digital surprises with strong Q3 but inventory levels increase
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued strong fiscal Q2 guidance, calling for revenue of about $5.1 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $5.80, both ahead of Wall Street expectations. Gross margin also improved substantially to 57.8% from 43.5% a year earlier. Western Digital Q1 Revenue Climbs 55% to $4.38 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital raised its quarterly dividend 17% to $0.175 per share, while reporting $1.38 billion in free cash flow. The results reinforce the view that AI, cloud, and high-capacity storage demand are supporting pricing and profitability. Western Digital Profit Grows on Data Storage Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock initially gained after the report but failed to hold those gains as investors focused on a severe technology and AI-sector selloff. Western Digital had already fallen sharply from its June peak, making the market particularly sensitive to guidance quality and forward demand signals. Western Digital beats earnings estimates, but AI selloff erases initial gains
• Negative Sentiment: Reports noted rising inventory levels, raising concerns that supply growth or weaker demand could eventually pressure pricing despite the upbeat near-term outlook. Analysts have also trimmed some fair-value estimates because of execution, HAMR technology-transition, and competitive-supply risks. Western Digital fair value trimmed as analysts weigh HDD demand and HAMR risks

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WDC. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Susquehanna upped their target price on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Saturday, October 17th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, August 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $609.56.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.