Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Rating Upgraded by Wall Street Zen

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was upgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $525.00 to $470.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price objective (up from $650.00) on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.26.

Western Digital Stock Down 6.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $332.00 on Friday. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $117.23 and a 52-week high of $799.87. The stock has a market cap of $124.27 billion, a P/E ratio of 13.71, a PEG ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.11. The business has a fifty day moving average of $442.85 and a two-hundred day moving average of $476.83.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.31 by $0.25. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last three months, insiders sold 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $627,606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo analysts said the recent selloff in Western Digital and Seagate has been “well overdone” and remained broadly bullish, providing some support for the long-term outlook. Seagate and Western Digital Stocks Fall on Toshiba Fears
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital expects fiscal first-quarter revenue to increase about 45%, driven by strong AI infrastructure and cloud-storage demand. Its prior quarter exceeded analyst expectations for both revenue and earnings, while management’s fiscal 2027 EPS guidance remains solid. Western Digital Pre-Q1 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for the October 22 earnings report to determine whether accelerating AI and hyperscaler demand can support current earnings estimates and justify the stock’s valuation. Western Digital Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced its price target for Western Digital, adding to bearish headlines even though the firm reportedly maintained a constructive view. The cuts have intensified concerns that expectations for the AI trade had become excessive. Friday’s First Moves
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Toshiba’s planned hard-disk-drive capacity expansion could increase future supply and pricing pressure. Rising interest-rate risks and questions about whether roughly $1 trillion of hyperscaler capital spending can continue are also weighing on storage stocks. Seagate and Western Digital Face Supply Risks
• Negative Sentiment: A broader technology and memory-stock selloff, concerns about Chinese competition in server memory, and analyst commentary describing Western Digital as potentially near a cyclical peak have prompted investors to lock in gains after its substantial advance. Memory Stocks Extend Selloff on China Competition Fears

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops, manufactures and supplies data-storage products and solutions. The company’s portfolio is centered on hard disk drives (HDDs) used in cloud and enterprise data centers, personal computers, network-attached storage systems and other applications that require high-capacity data storage.

Western Digital markets products under brands including Western Digital, WD and Ultrastar. Its offerings include enterprise and data-center HDDs, storage products for business and consumer systems, and related technologies designed to help organizations store, manage and access large volumes of data.

Founded in 1970, Western Digital has evolved from a maker of electronic components into a global data-storage company.