Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading 4.1% Higher – Here’s Why

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) rose 4.1% during trading on Friday . The stock traded as high as $448.85 and last traded at $441.36. 13,391,193 shares were traded during mid-day trading, an increase of 56% from the average session volume of 8,606,059 shares. The stock had previously closed at $423.87.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest quarterly results remain a key support: revenue grew 44% year over year, earnings exceeded expectations, margins expanded and cash generation was strong. Its first-quarter 2027 earnings outlook also implied continued substantial year-over-year growth. Western Digital rises as investors weigh strong fundamentals, debt cleanup, and a firmer storage trade
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s plan to redeem its remaining 3.00% convertible notes due in 2028 is being viewed favorably because it could simplify the capital structure and reduce future dilution. The notes became redeemable after WDC’s share price surpassed the required threshold, signaling sustained investor confidence. What’s Going On With Western Digital Stock Friday?
• Positive Sentiment: Strength in storage peers, particularly SanDisk, Micron and the broader AI-infrastructure trade, provided a favorable read-through for WDC. Investors continue to anticipate durable demand for data-center storage driven by artificial intelligence. Analysts’ recent price targets also remain generally above the current trading level. SanDisk Jumps as Storage Bid Concentrates in One Name; Western Digital Rises, Micron Ticks Up
• Neutral Sentiment: Recent commentary comparing WDC with SanDisk highlights different exposure to HDDs and NAND flash, as well as varying margins and risks. This reinforces the long-term AI-storage opportunity but also underscores that the companies’ growth profiles are not identical. Western Digital vs. SanDisk: Which Storage Stock Is the Better Bet?
• Negative Sentiment: Insider trading data is a cautionary signal: reported open-market insider activity over the past six months consisted entirely of sales, with no purchases. In addition, WDC recently experienced a pullback and has traded below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages, indicating ongoing volatility despite the improving fundamentals.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Sunday, August 16th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $152.13 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.77 and a beta of 2.13. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $482.23 and a 200 day simple moving average of $457.16.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th were issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on 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 $37,052,185.77. The trade was a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $788,729,000. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Western Digital by 267.6% during the fourth quarter. National Pension Service now owns 1,691,659 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $291,422,000 after purchasing an additional 1,231,477 shares during the last quarter. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $901,601,000. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $885,565,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and sells data storage products and solutions for data centers, cloud service providers, enterprises, businesses and consumers. Its portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs), including high-capacity enterprise drives used in cloud and data center environments, as well as products for network-attached storage, surveillance and personal computing.

The company markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD, WD_BLACK and Ultrastar.