Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 4.4% – Should You Sell?

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price traded down 4.4% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as low as $456.75 and last traded at $460.93. 4,497,937 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 48% from the average daily volume of 8,631,098 shares. The stock had previously closed at $482.28.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Citi reaffirmed its Buy rating and raised its price target to $740. Analyst Asiya Merchant cited AI-driven storage demand and supply constraints, suggesting substantial upside if data-center demand remains strong. Citi Buy Rating and Price Target Article
• Positive Sentiment: Recent operating results remain strong. Western Digital’s latest report showed revenue growth of approximately 44% year over year, earnings above analyst expectations, and fiscal first-quarter 2027 EPS guidance of $3.85 to $4.15. These results support the longer-term AI and data-center storage thesis.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly constructive, but valuation expectations vary. The stock has a median recent price target of $597.50, while targets range from $500 to $900. This indicates continued confidence in Western Digital’s growth prospects but also heightened sensitivity to execution and market conditions.
• Negative Sentiment: Storage stocks sold off across the sector. Western Digital declined alongside Seagate, Micron and SK Hynix as higher Treasury yields, rising oil prices and broader pressure on high-multiple technology stocks outweighed favorable analyst commentary. Memory Stocks Sector Selloff Article
• Negative Sentiment: Repeated insider selling may be adding to near-term caution. Recent filings show sales by multiple executives, including transactions conducted under Rule 10b5-1 plans. The sales do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals, but the lack of reported insider purchases can weigh on sentiment when the sector is under pressure. Western Digital Insider Selling Article

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WDC. TD Cowen raised their target price on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 price target on Western Digital and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, June 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Down 4.4%

The firm has a market cap of $158.87 billion, a PE ratio of 19.04, a PEG ratio of 2.02 and a beta of 2.13. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $496.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $450.83.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling

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 sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at 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 stock was 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after acquiring an additional 3,019 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares in the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 55.3% in the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $152,000 after acquiring an additional 845 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

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.