Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Down 5.3% After Insider Selling

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price dropped 5.3% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $244.20 and last traded at $245.25. Approximately 6,319,899 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 39% from the average daily volume of 10,284,573 shares. The stock had previously closed at $259.03.

Specifically, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total transaction of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total value of $2,501,349.48. Following the transaction, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,630.14. This trade represents a 7.12% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on shares of Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Loop Capital boosted their price target on Western Digital to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Mizuho boosted their target price on Western Digital to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $340.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group set a $250.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.58.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Spin‑off completed and balance‑sheet actions: WDC has repositioned as a pure‑play HDD supplier, reportedly sold a ~$3.1B stake and locked long‑term hyperscaler contracts that fully book HDD capacity through at least 2028 — improving revenue visibility and margins. Western Digital Bets On Pure HDD Future With Hyperscaler AI Demand
• Positive Sentiment: AI demand tailwinds and sold‑out nearline capacity: Research and company commentary point to strong AI/video workload demand, guidance for materially higher revenue and gross margins, and a narrative that is driving institutional interest. Western Digital: AI’s Unsung Storage Backbone
• Neutral Sentiment: Options and big‑money flow: Elevated options activity signals active positioning by large traders but does not by itself change fundamentals; useful to monitor for directional conviction. Western Digital’s Options: A Look at What the Big Money is Thinking
• Neutral Sentiment: Retail promotions and product noise (e.g., unusual SSD pricing) are drawing short‑term attention but are peripheral to the enterprise HDD thesis. This 2TB WD SN850X is cheaper from Walmart than the equivalent 1TB model in a strange deal
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: Multiple executive sales were disclosed (March 4 filings), which can weigh on short‑term sentiment even if routine. Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Insider Sells $2,501,349.48 in Stock
• Negative Sentiment: Stake divestiture & valuation/cycle risk: coverage notes that the recent run has priced in peak AI/storage expectations; a large stake sale and debt moves previously triggered a sharp pullback and broader tech selling—raising the risk of further volatility if hyperscaler demand softens. What Drove WDC Stock’s Historic 490% Jump

Western Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $83.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 24.60, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $245.11 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.68.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.77 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 5.02%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second 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 period. NewSquare Capital LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 86.9% during the 2nd quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 441 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 205 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 551.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the period. Finally, Grove Bank & Trust purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.