Proficio Capital Partners LLC Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 2,874 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,836,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $468.88 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $538.41 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $438.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be given a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.48%.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 684 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.17, for a total value of $305,180.28. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 112,146 shares in the company, valued at $50,036,180.82. This trade represents a 0.61% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the sale, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,634 shares of company stock valued at $11,357,073. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WDC. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Sunday, August 16th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital disclosed exchange agreements covering approximately $191 million of its 3.00% convertible notes due 2028. The transaction will provide holders with cash and shares, potentially reducing debt, although the stock component could create some dilution. The exchanges are expected to close on or after September 2. Western Digital convertible notes article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to see support from AI, cloud and data-center demand. Western Digital recently reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus. Management’s next-quarter outlook also points to continued strong growth. Western Digital debt exchange and AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A hammer chart pattern suggests technical support after the stock’s recent decline, while upward earnings-estimate revisions may improve the likelihood of a near-term rebound. Western Digital bottoming pattern article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a median recent price target of approximately $597.50. However, targets vary widely, reflecting uncertainty around valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential effects from new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, including possible compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions and impacts on contract manufacturing or shipments. Western Digital Iran sanctions exposure article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been heavily weighted toward sales, including transactions by executives and directors. The reported sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans, reducing their significance, but they remain a potential overhang for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution toward highly valued AI and memory stocks, ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, and concerns about potential Chinese memory competition could pressure sector valuations and future pricing.

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.