Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $450.4583.

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $400.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, May 4th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday, May 15th. Finally, UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $350.00 to $375.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Shares are being boosted by renewed enthusiasm for AI infrastructure spending, with Western Digital seen as a key beneficiary of rising demand for storage used in data centers and cloud workloads. MU, WDC, STX: Why Are AI Memory and Storage Stocks Rising Today, 6/18/2026?
• Positive Sentiment: Morgan Stanley raised its price target on Western Digital, reinforcing the view that earnings and demand trends remain strong and could support further upside. Morgan Stanley Raises Price Target on Western Digital (WDC). Here is Why
• Positive Sentiment: Coverage highlighted accelerating earnings growth tied to AI and cloud demand, along with strong momentum after the stock hit new highs and extended a powerful multi-day rally. Western Digital Earnings Nearly Double on AI, Cloud Demand
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and market commentary said Western Digital remains a strong momentum stock, helped by above-average trading volume and improving earnings estimate revisions. Western Digital (WDC) Moves 4.2% Higher: Will This Strength Last?
• Neutral Sentiment: Several articles focused on whether the rally can continue after the stock’s rapid run-up, suggesting enthusiasm is high but also that valuation and near-term pullback risk are on investors’ minds. Western Digital stock looks ripe for a near-term pullback: find out more
• Neutral Sentiment: Upcoming corporate developments, including the June 22 SanDisk-related catalyst, could matter for sentiment, but the articles frame this more as a future event than an immediate driver. Dear Western Digital Stock Fans, Mark Your Calendars for June 22

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total transaction of $8,236,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total transaction of $235,699.20. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares in the company, valued at $63,640,420.80. The trade was a 0.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. AustralianSuper Pty Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $34,244,000. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 399.8% in the third quarter. Cantor Fitzgerald L. P. now owns 32,487 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,900,000 after purchasing an additional 25,987 shares during the period. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 75.4% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 9,465 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,778,000 after purchasing an additional 4,068 shares during the period. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $2,270,000. Finally, WESPAC Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $793,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.6%

Shares of WDC opened at $712.13 on Thursday. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $58.53 and a fifty-two week high of $741.85. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $470.28 and its 200 day moving average price is $320.11. The company has a market cap of $245.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.52 and a beta of 2.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 45.5% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 3.58%.

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.