Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 4.8% – Time to Sell?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price was down 4.8% during trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $441.67 and last traded at $458.68. Approximately 8,972,412 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 2% from the average daily volume of 9,186,026 shares. The stock had previously closed at $482.02.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand for enterprise storage is fueling a NAND flash “supercycle,” with contract prices rising sharply and hyperscalers locking up capacity. That backdrop supports stronger revenue and margin growth for Western Digital. The Great AI Rotation: Cashing In on Data
• Positive Sentiment: Recent commentary says Western Digital’s fair value has been revised higher as analysts raise price targets on better earnings expectations and AI-related storage demand, reinforcing a bullish valuation narrative. Why The Western Digital (WDC) Story Is Shifting On New Earnings And AI Storage Expectations
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s inclusion in the 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America may attract additional institutional interest and index-related buying. Western Digital Corporation (WDC) Included in 2026 S&P Dow Jones Best-in-Class Index North America
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest earnings were strong, with revenue up 45.5% year over year and EPS beating estimates, which helps explain continued optimism around the stock. Western Digital (WDC) Valuation Check After Strong 1-Year Return And Recent Share Price Cooldown
• Neutral Sentiment: Some recent trading has cooled after a very strong run, suggesting investors may be pausing to reassess valuation rather than reacting to a company-specific setback. Western Digital (WDC) Valuation Check After Strong 1-Year Return And Recent Share Price Cooldown
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital, along with other memory stocks, has also been affected by sector rotation and short-term volatility in the AI hardware trade. Micron, Seagate, Western Digital Sink On Capacity Crunch Fears
• Negative Sentiment: One recent article noted a pullback in Western Digital shares amid broader worries that AI infrastructure and memory names were overextended, highlighting the risk of near-term volatility. Micron, Seagate, Western Digital Sink On Capacity Crunch Fears

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WDC shares. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. Wall Street Zen raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, May 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Barclays upped their target price on Western Digital from $405.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a research report on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.83.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.8%

The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $360.35 and a 200 day simple moving average of $262.26. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.42 billion, a PE ratio of 27.44 and a beta of 2.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. The firm had revenue of $3.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The firm’s revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.36 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.57 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 3.58%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 363 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $377.09, for a total transaction of $136,883.67. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 120,023 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,259,473.07. This represents a 0.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $411.84, for a total value of $8,236,800.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This trade represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 53,679 shares of company stock valued at $18,049,314 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Rakuten Securities Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% during the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. grew its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Westfuller Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $30,000. Avion Wealth raised its position in Western Digital by 163.8% during the fourth quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 207.0% during the third quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.