Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 5% – What’s Next?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price dropped 5% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $286.54 and last traded at $295.65. 4,760,147 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 8,668,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.21.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WDC. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $540.00 price target on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. Two research 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Stock Down 5.0%

The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $394.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $420.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a PE ratio of 11.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.11 and a beta of 2.27.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm 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. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm’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 owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available 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 firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 5,436 shares of company stock valued at $2,440,664. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Western Digital by 182.6% during the third quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 65 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

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.