Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Downgraded by Summit Insights to Hold

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was downgraded by research analysts at Summit Insights from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Thursday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $488.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 15th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $310.00 to $450.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, May 4th. Wall Street Zen raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 2nd. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $530.92.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $519.17 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $178.95 billion, a PE ratio of 31.00 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $73.14 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $569.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $415.61.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 9.61 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total value of $427,941.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 114,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% 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 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337 over the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Finally, BOKF NA increased its position in Western Digital by 6,700.0% during the 3rd quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 268 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported adjusted fourth-quarter EPS of $3.56, above the $3.31 consensus estimate, while revenue increased 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, also exceeding expectations. Profit more than11-fold from the prior-year quarter. Western Digital Q4 Earnings and Revenues Top Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Management said AI customers are negotiating storage capacity agreements extending through 2031, suggesting strong long-term visibility for hard-drive demand tied to data-center expansion. Western Digital Says AI Customers Are Negotiating Storage Deals Through 2031
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird maintained a Buy rating and raised its price target to $630 from $450, citing AI-supported HDD strength and improving profitability. Western Digital Earns Buy Rating as Analyst Lifts Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, payable September 17 to shareholders of record September 8. The approximately 0.1% yield is unlikely to be a major share-price catalyst.
• Negative Sentiment: First-quarter fiscal 2027 guidance calls for EPS of $3.85–$4.15 and revenue of $4.0–$4.2 billion, both above published consensus estimates. However, investors viewed the outlook as disappointing relative to elevated expectations for AI-related growth, triggering declines across storage stocks including SanDisk and Western Digital. Sandisk and Western Digital Drag on Chip Stocks as Lofty Expectations Eclipse Strong Earnings

About Western Digital

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.