Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 9.9% – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) were up 9.9% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $199.58 and last traded at $206.4590. Approximately 1,638,127 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 73% from the average daily volume of 6,073,342 shares. The stock had previously closed at $187.88.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: SanDisk launched the new “SanDisk Optimus” SSD family at CES, rebranding the previous WD_BLACK and WD Blue NVMe lines and introducing tiered models targeted at mainstream and gaming buyers — a clearer brand architecture that could support higher ASPs and marketing efficiency. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: The Optimus lineup (including GX and GX Pro tiers) specifically targets PC gamers and console upgrades (coverage highlights the continued strength of the former WD_BLACK designs for PS5), which may preserve premium-market share and drive incremental SSD revenue/royalties. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts and comparison pieces are re-evaluating Western Digital’s positioning vs. enterprise flash vendors (e.g., Pure Storage), highlighting that WDC straddles both client SSD and data-center/storage markets — reinforcing that long‑term outcomes hinge on execution across distinct businesses. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Some coverage flags valuation risk after a sharp 90‑day share rally — investors should note stretched multiples versus near‑term revenue visibility; a rebrand alone may not justify higher multiples without clearer top‑line/ margin evidence. Article Title
• Negative Sentiment: Retiring the WD_BLACK name risks short‑term channel confusion and possible marketing/stocking frictions during the transition — a small near‑term sales/headwind until the Optimus brand gains recognition. Article Title

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Bank of America boosted their target price on Western Digital from $170.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 20th. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Digital from $105.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $148.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $125.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, nineteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $173.65.

Western Digital Trading Up 15.3%

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42, a current ratio of 1.21 and a quick ratio of 0.94. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $164.91 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $115.50. The company has a market cap of $74.07 billion, a PE ratio of 31.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.16 and a beta of 1.78.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 30.89% and a net margin of 21.37%.The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, December 4th were given a $0.125 dividend. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. This represents a $0.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 7.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 645,467 shares in the company, valued at $97,265,422.23. This trade represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 1,768 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $154.00, for a total transaction of $272,272.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,585 shares in the company, valued at $552,090. This represents a 33.03% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 26,369 shares of company stock valued at $4,013,785 over the last quarter. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 202 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 86.9% in the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 204 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.