Boothbay Fund Management LLC Increases Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Boothbay Fund Management LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 172.9% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 105,814 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 67,040 shares during the quarter. Boothbay Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $12,704,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 12.3% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 52,317 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $6,281,000 after buying an additional 5,731 shares in the last quarter. LBP AM SA purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $641,000. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $34,244,000. Moloney Securities Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $636,000. Finally, New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 35.3% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 234,245 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,123,000 after purchasing an additional 61,166 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. UBS Group set a $306.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 30th. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Argus set a $300.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.58.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $272.29 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $255.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $179.13. The company has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.76. Western Digital Corporation has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $309.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The business’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.77 earnings per share. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is 5.02%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 8,518 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.32, for a total transaction of $2,174,815.76. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 99,276 shares in the company, valued at approximately $25,347,148.32. The trade was a 7.90% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Western Digital 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.