Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 3.6% on Analyst Upgrade

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price rose 3.6% on Monday after JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on the stock from $600.00 to $650.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Western Digital traded as high as $364.13 and last traded at $356.13. Approximately 9,684,370 shares were traded during trading, an increase of 11% from the average session volume of 8,694,299 shares. The stock had previously closed at $343.67.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on WDC. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group set a $540.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $730.00 to $450.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 16th. Finally, BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have assigned a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.04.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the sale, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total transaction of $8,899,400.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% 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. Insiders have sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.20% of the company’s stock.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory and AI demand are supporting the sector. Bank of America said customers are locking in memory supply for several years, reinforcing expectations for favorable pricing and benefiting chip and storage companies, including Western Digital. Bank of America memory-market article
• Positive Sentiment: Long-term growth expectations remain strong. Analysts and commentators cited AI-driven data-center storage demand, favorable pricing and rising earnings estimates as reasons for a bullish outlook. CEO Irving Tan reportedly expects AI storage demand to grow about 25% annually and believes margins can expand despite data-center cost concerns. Western Digital CEO AI-storage article
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital raised its quarterly dividend by 16.7%. The increase, coming shortly after strong fiscal first-quarter results, signals management confidence in cash generation and adds to the stock’s shareholder-return appeal. Western Digital dividend increase article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst views are divided. Argus reduced its price target from $600 to $500 but maintained a Buy rating, while other firms have issued more cautious forecasts. The mixed targets reflect optimism about AI demand alongside concerns about valuation and the next phase of the storage cycle. Argus Western Digital rating
• Negative Sentiment: Risks include rising supply, cyclicality and AI-spending concerns. Recent commentary warned that excess supply could pressure pricing and that data-center customers may eventually slow spending if AI investments do not produce adequate returns. Insider selling and a prior post-earnings selloff add to near-term uncertainty.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Maxi Investments CY Ltd increased its stake in Western Digital by 121.9% in the 3rd quarter. Maxi Investments CY Ltd now owns 7,100 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,227,000 after purchasing an additional 3,900 shares during the period. Leslie Global Wealth LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 8.0% during the 3rd quarter. Leslie Global Wealth LLC now owns 569 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $259,000 after buying an additional 42 shares during the period. WealthCare Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $729,000. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 143.0% in the 3rd quarter. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC now owns 3,147 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,430,000 after acquiring an additional 1,852 shares during the last quarter. Finally, VUB Generali dochodkova spravcovska spolocnost a.s. bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $384,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Up 3.6%

The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $432.18 and its 200-day simple moving average is $480.74. The stock has a market cap of $133.31 billion, a PE ratio of 13.82, a PEG ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.69 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.33%.

About Western Digital

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.