Park West Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 40,027 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,566,000. Western Digital makes up about 1.7% of Park West Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Fox Advisors lowered Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, June 22nd. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Finally, UBS Group cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $468.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $161.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $538.41 and its 200 day moving average price is $438.22. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $77.90 and a 1-year high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. The firm’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. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Western Digital News Roundup

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.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the transaction, the insider owned 114,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing 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 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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $47,366,060.96. The trade was a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 24,634 shares of company stock valued at $11,357,073 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.