Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report)’s share price was down 1.4% on Friday. The company traded as low as $258.61 and last traded at $263.78. 11,934,851 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 37% from the average session volume of 8,707,566 shares. The stock had previously closed at $267.63.
Trending Headlines about Western Digital
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: Memory and storage shares recovered broadly Friday after a steep sector selloff. Strategists cited continuing AI-storage demand, though some expect the buildout to unfold over a longer timeline. Western Digital Stock Rebounds as Wall Street Bets AI Storage Demand Outlasts Election Rout
- Positive Sentiment: Fundamental support includes stronger pricing, demand for higher-capacity hard drives and operational efficiencies, which have been driving gross-margin expansion. Western Digital’s Gross Margin Momentum: How Long Can It Last?
- Positive Sentiment: Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from “hold” to “strong buy,” adding a favorable analyst signal amid the volatility. Zacks Research Upgrade
- Negative Sentiment: Investors are weighing the possibility of tighter oversight, permitting rules or limits on new AI data-center projects following renewed election momentum for Democrats. Such measures could delay infrastructure spending and temper demand expectations for storage suppliers. Why Are Western Digital Shares Falling on AI Data Center Policy Risk?
- Negative Sentiment: One valuation analysis lowered its fair-value estimate for WDC, reflecting concerns about how much HDD strength is already priced in and uncertainty around future capacity and supply. Western Digital Stock Sees Fair Value Cut As Analysts Weigh HDD Strength
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of research analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Mizuho set a $490.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Western Digital from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $540.00 target price on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $625.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04.
Get Our Latest Analysis on WDC
Western Digital Price Performance
The business has a fifty day moving average price of $410.72 and a 200 day moving average price of $418.77. The company has a market capitalization of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.27.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The firm had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. Western Digital’s revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.78 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Increases Dividend
The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a $0.1750 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.72%.
Insider Activity
In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.
Western Digital Company Profile
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar.
Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.
Western Digital serves customers around the world.
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