Chesapeake Capital Corp IL Makes New $1.13 Million Investment in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Chesapeake Capital Corp IL purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 9,418 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,131,000. Western Digital comprises approximately 1.0% of Chesapeake Capital Corp IL’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 22nd largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WDC. WCM Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth $791,317,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $220,680,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP raised its holdings in Western Digital by 1,926.3% in the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $195,882,000 after acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 175.4% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 1,232,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $78,347,000 after acquiring an additional 784,645 shares during the period. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd lifted its position in Western Digital by 463.4% during the 3rd quarter. Trivest Advisors Ltd now owns 920,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $110,455,000 after acquiring an additional 756,700 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

Here are the key news stories impacting Western Digital this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $240.00 to $325.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $260.00 to $335.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Bank of America increased their target price on Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Citigroup raised their target price on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, New Street Research set a $250.00 price target on Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 3rd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $265.58.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 8,518 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $255.32, for a total value of $2,174,815.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 99,276 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,347,148.32. This trade represents a 7.90% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the sale, the insider owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.3%

Shares of WDC opened at $272.29 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $255.24 and a 200-day simple moving average of $178.44. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $309.90. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.60 and a beta of 1.76.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share 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 business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.02%.

Western Digital Profile

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.