Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) shares were down 7.7% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $272.83 and last traded at $273.35. Approximately 9,681,829 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 4% from the average daily volume of 10,057,425 shares. The stock had previously closed at $296.14.
Western Digital News Roundup
Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:
- Positive Sentiment: WDC has secured multi?year purchase commitments for high?capacity drives into 2027–2028, improving revenue visibility for its AI/hyperscale storage business. Western Digital’s Long Contracts Recast AI Storage Growth And Valuation
- Positive Sentiment: Company fundamentals tied to AI and cloud remain supportive — analysts note accelerating high?capacity drive shipments and next?gen storage technology adoption by hyperscalers. Western Digital Riding on AI & Cloud Boom to Power Growth
- Positive Sentiment: Several analysts and writeups favor WDC over peers (e.g., NetApp) based on AI exposure, cash returns and growth targets — a potential tailwind if sentiment stabilizes. Western Digital vs. NetApp: Which Data Storage Stock is the Better Buy?
- Neutral Sentiment: Broader industry notes (e.g., comparisons with Micron) highlight mixed valuation and demand dynamics across memory vs. storage segments — useful context but not directly decisive for WDC’s near?term move. Memory Prices Could Spike More Than 100%: Buy Micron Stock Here
- Negative Sentiment: Google’s TurboQuant announcement — an algorithm designed to drastically cut AI memory requirements — is being treated as a material demand risk for memory/storage suppliers and sparked an immediate market reaction. Google TurboQuant Puts Western Digital AI Storage Growth In Focus
- Negative Sentiment: Market moves: memory?chip peers and related stocks fell after the TurboQuant news (reports show a ~6% drop across memory names), which is pressuring WDC shares despite company positives. Memory Chip Stocks Drop 6% as Google Unveils AI Efficiency Algorithm
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
WDC has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $260.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $340.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, February 4th. Finally, Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 2nd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.58.
Western Digital Trading Down 7.7%
The company has a 50-day moving average of $270.65 and a 200 day moving average of $191.25. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.46 and a quick ratio of 1.19. The company has a market cap of $92.68 billion, a PE ratio of 27.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.69 and a beta of 1.76.
Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The firm had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.77 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.
Western Digital Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th were paid a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 5.02%.
Insider Activity
In related news, 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 sale, the insider directly owned 121,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Avion Wealth grew its position in Western Digital by 163.8% in the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. ORG Partners LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the last quarter. Concord Wealth Partners purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. lifted its holdings 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 buying an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
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.
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