Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at Melius Research

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was upgraded by investment analysts at Melius Research to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 2nd. Weiss Ratings lowered Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $550.00 to $685.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, June 8th. TD Cowen raised 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. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $484.04.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $638.72 on Monday. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $62.94 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The company has a market capitalization of $220.15 billion, a PE ratio of 38.13 and a beta of 2.13. The company has a fifty day moving average of $529.13 and a 200 day moving average of $352.48.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.25 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.36 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. Research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 9.6 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 598,150 shares in the company, valued at approximately $246,342,096. This represents a 3.24% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $545.60, for a total value of $235,699.20. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 116,643 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,640,420.80. This trade represents a 0.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 29,322 shares of company stock valued at $12,768,550. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 853.8% during the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 124 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares during the period. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 33.3% in the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 132 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 80.2% in the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Melius Research initiated coverage of Western Digital with a Buy rating and a price target implying significant upside, boosting investor confidence in the stock. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts highlighted about 55% upside for Western Digital and noted bullish options flow, with call buying outpacing put buying, suggesting traders are positioning for further gains. Article Title
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital has been screening as a top momentum name in AI infrastructure, helped by strong earnings trends and continued demand tied to storage needs. Article Title
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent market commentary says Western Digital remains in a strong bullish trend and is trading well above its 200-day moving average, which supports the stock technically but does not add a major new catalyst. Article Title

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.