Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Gets Price Target Cut from TD Cowen

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at TD Cowen from $540.00 to $430.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. TD Cowen‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 21.40% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the company. Wedbush boosted 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. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their price target on Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Friday. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price objective on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 16th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $599.37.

Western Digital Stock Down 6.4%

Western Digital stock opened at $354.19 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $132.58 billion, a PE ratio of 14.63, a P/E/G ratio of 1.60 and a beta of 2.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $435.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $480.46. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $121.71 and a twelve month high of $799.87.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Digital will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s 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 transaction, 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 position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $627,606,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal Q1 2027 adjusted earnings of $4.64 per share and revenue of $4.38 billion, exceeding estimates of roughly $4.09–$4.14 billion. Revenue grew 55.5% year over year, driven by data-center demand and stronger pricing. Western Digital earnings report
• Positive Sentiment: Management’s fiscal Q2 outlook was also strong, calling for approximately $5.1 billion in revenue and adjusted EPS of $5.80, plus or minus $0.20. Gross margins are expected to approach 60%, suggesting continued hard-drive pricing power. Western Digital results and guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital generated about $1.38 billion in free cash flow and raised its quarterly dividend 16.7% to $0.175 per share. Management also said AI inference, robotics and cloud workloads are supporting long-term storage demand, with visibility extending into 2030–2031. Western Digital storage demand outlook
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain bullish overall, but several firms lowered their price targets while maintaining positive ratings. Rosenblatt cut its target to $650 with a “buy” rating, and Cantor Fitzgerald reduced its target to $625 while retaining an “overweight” rating. Rosenblatt analyst action
• Negative Sentiment: The earnings beat failed to sustain gains as investors questioned higher capital expenditures, potential supply growth, inventory levels and execution risks surrounding the HAMR technology transition. Concerns about hyperscaler spending may be weighing on the entire AI infrastructure group.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is also being dragged lower by a broad AI, semiconductor and memory-stock sell-off. After a major prior rally, investors may be taking profits and demanding stronger evidence that current growth and pricing strength can persist.
• Negative Sentiment: An insider disclosed a sale of 807 shares worth approximately $306,660 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The transaction is small relative to the insider’s remaining holdings, but it adds a modest sentiment overhang. SEC insider filing

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.