Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Rating Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research lowered shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Monday morning,Zacks reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $610.00 to $732.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 1st. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, TD Cowen raised their price objective on Western Digital from $500.00 to $540.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $534.56.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $411.04 on Monday. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $112.52 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $462.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $473.39. The firm has a market cap of $141.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.98, a PEG ratio of 1.87 and a beta of 2.11.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 2.48%.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital 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 sale, the chief executive officer directly 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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts previously characterized Toshiba’s planned production expansion as manageable, arguing that the HDD market remains undersupplied and that Toshiba would still trail Western Digital and Seagate in scale. This helped support a rebound in WDC shares during the prior session. Western Digital and Seagate shares bounce back as analysts downplay the Toshiba threat
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s latest reported quarter showed strong fundamentals: earnings and revenue exceeded consensus estimates, revenue increased 43.8% year over year, and management issued first-quarter fiscal 2027 earnings guidance of $3.85–$4.15 per share.
• Neutral Sentiment: The AI infrastructure buildout continues to drive demand for high-capacity HDD storage, creating a favorable long-term opportunity for WDC. However, investors are increasingly focused on whether new industry capacity could weaken pricing and margins. Seagate vs. Western Digital vs. Toshiba: The AI Storage War Is Getting Serious
• Negative Sentiment: Investor concerns returned after reports that Toshiba intends to expand HDD production, potentially increasing future supply and intensifying competition for AI-storage customers. The news pressured Western Digital and Seagate while leaving memory-chip stocks comparatively less affected. Western Digital Sinks as Toshiba’s Drive Expansion Hits the Group
• Negative Sentiment: Reports that Seagate and Toshiba are competing to acquire TDK’s hard-drive magnetic-heads business added another concern. Investors may view control of the only independent magnetic-recording-head supplier as a potential advantage for rivals in technology, capacity, and supply-chain control. Western Digital Stock Drops Tuesday: Here’s Why

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.