Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. Decreases Stake in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C. lessened its holdings in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 53.8% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 60,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 70,000 shares during the period. Kingdon Capital Management L.L.C.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $7,204,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. ORG Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares in the last quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% in the 3rd quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital News Summary

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

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $272.29 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $255.24 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.83. The firm has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a current ratio of 1.46. Western Digital Corporation has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $309.90.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total transaction of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Mizuho boosted their price target on Western Digital to $340.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 4th. Bank of America upped their price target on Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 20th. New Street Research set a $250.00 price objective on Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. One investment 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.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $265.58.

Western Digital Company 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.