Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 6.4% After Insider Selling

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price fell 6.4% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $348.23 and last traded at $354.19. 11,579,204 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 34% from the average daily volume of 8,645,324 shares. The stock had previously closed at $378.51.

Specifically, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total transaction of $306,660.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,392,640. The trade was a 0.74% 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. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush increased their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. BNP Paribas Exane increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have given a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $609.56.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, up 55% year over year, while GAAP net income reached $1.78 billion and diluted EPS was $4.63. Non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 exceeded analyst expectations by approximately 13%. Western Digital surprises with strong Q3 but inventory levels increase
• Positive Sentiment: Management issued strong fiscal Q2 guidance, calling for revenue of about $5.1 billion and non-GAAP EPS of $5.80, both ahead of Wall Street expectations. Gross margin also improved substantially to 57.8% from 43.5% a year earlier. Western Digital Q1 Revenue Climbs 55% to $4.38 Billion
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital raised its quarterly dividend 17% to $0.175 per share, while reporting $1.38 billion in free cash flow. The results reinforce the view that AI, cloud, and high-capacity storage demand are supporting pricing and profitability. Western Digital Profit Grows on Data Storage Demand
• Neutral Sentiment: The stock initially gained after the report but failed to hold those gains as investors focused on a severe technology and AI-sector selloff. Western Digital had already fallen sharply from its June peak, making the market particularly sensitive to guidance quality and forward demand signals. Western Digital beats earnings estimates, but AI selloff erases initial gains
• Negative Sentiment: Reports noted rising inventory levels, raising concerns that supply growth or weaker demand could eventually pressure pricing despite the upbeat near-term outlook. Analysts have also trimmed some fair-value estimates because of execution, HAMR technology-transition, and competitive-supply risks. Western Digital fair value trimmed as analysts weigh HDD demand and HAMR risks

Western Digital Stock Down 6.4%

The stock has a market capitalization of $132.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.54 and a beta of 2.11. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $438.14 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.05.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a dividend of $0.15 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $31,000. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $32,000. Finally, Gables Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $32,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.