Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Climb 8.3% – Time to Buy?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price was up 8.3% on Wednesday. The stock traded as high as $319.00 and last traded at $313.31. 7,987,379 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 8% from the average session volume of 8,701,617 shares. The stock had previously closed at $289.20.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $600.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Argus dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price target on Western Digital from $720.00 to $800.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $591.04.

Western Digital Price Performance

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $394.64 and its 200-day moving average price is $420.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 11.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.27.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. Western Digital’s revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Investors of record on Friday, December 4th will be issued a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This is a positive change from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 2.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $306,660.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,392,640. This represents a 0.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 5,436 shares of company stock valued at $2,440,664 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. PAX Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $260,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 315,174 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $143,234,000 after buying an additional 19,508 shares during the period. HighVista Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 62.5% during the 3rd quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC now owns 4,956 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,252,000 after buying an additional 1,906 shares during the last quarter. Snowwater Investment Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 8.8% during the 3rd quarter. Snowwater Investment Partners LLC now owns 628 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $285,000 after buying an additional 51 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 144.2% during the 3rd quarter. Xcelsior Advisor Partners LLC now owns 1,211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $550,000 after buying an additional 715 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.