Key Points
- CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 Western Digital shares at an average price of $444.97, worth approximately $8.9 million. The transaction was conducted under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan, leaving him with 575,966 shares.
- Western Digital’s latest quarterly results exceeded expectations, with earnings of $3.56 per share and revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year. The stock opened at $454.10 and was reported up 3.7%.
- The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.15 per share, while analysts maintained a broadly positive outlook with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $534.56.
Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company's stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.
Western Digital Stock Up 3.7%
NASDAQ:WDC opened at $454.10 on Thursday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $73.14 and a 52 week high of $799.87. The company has a market capitalization of $156.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.76 and a beta of 2.14. The stock's fifty day moving average is $558.15 and its two-hundred day moving average is $423.11.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The company's revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 18.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The business 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 of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.1%. Western Digital's dividend payout ratio is presently 2.48%.
Western Digital News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: AI-driven storage demand is supporting the sector. A reported deepening memory shortage and a neocloud company’s results highlighted continued spending on AI infrastructure, lifting expectations for demand for Western Digital’s hard-disk drives and NAND products. Memory shortage article
- Positive Sentiment: Higher-capacity drives are improving margins. Favorable pricing, lower costs, and new ePMR products are helping Western Digital expand margins, while demand for high-capacity drives remains strong. Western Digital margin article
- Positive Sentiment: Cash flow provides a fundamental catalyst. Western Digital generated approximately $3.5 billion in fiscal 2026 free cash flow, driven by stronger demand, pricing, and high-capacity drives. Investors are now assessing whether that momentum can continue into fiscal 2027. Western Digital free cash flow article
- Positive Sentiment: Valuation and momentum views remain supportive. One valuation update raised Western Digital’s estimated fair value from $584.79 to $662.13, while momentum screens continued to identify WDC as a potential 2026 outperformer. Western Digital fair value article
- Neutral Sentiment: Analyst coverage remains broadly favorable, with the average brokerage recommendation equivalent to “Buy,” although the reliability of consensus ratings can be limited when expectations are already optimistic. Western Digital analyst recommendations
- Negative Sentiment: The main risks are execution during technology transitions and uncertainty over how long elevated storage pricing and AI-related demand will translate into higher margins. Investors are also questioning whether fiscal 2026’s exceptional cash-flow growth is sustainable.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. grew its stake in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Avion Wealth grew its stake in Western Digital by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Fox Advisors downgraded shares of Western Digital from an "overweight" rating to an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Jefferies Financial Group set a $575.00 target price on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price target on Western Digital from $560.00 to $525.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note 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. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $534.56.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WDC
About Western Digital
(
Get Free Report)
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.
Further Reading
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