Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Moved Up to Strong-Buy by Wall Street Zen

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was upgraded by analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Saturday, Wall Street Zen reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Zacks Research cut Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $608.26.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $332.00 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $124.27 billion, a PE ratio of 13.71, a P/E/G ratio of 1.51 and a beta of 2.11. The company’s 50-day moving average is $442.85 and its 200 day moving average is $476.83. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $117.23 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of Western Digital 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 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $256,287,591.02. The trade was 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 a total of 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345 over the last quarter. 0.20% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Legal & General Group Plc acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $627,606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

More Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Wells Fargo analysts said the recent selloff in Western Digital and Seagate has been “well overdone” and remained broadly bullish, providing some support for the long-term outlook. Seagate and Western Digital Stocks Fall on Toshiba Fears
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital expects fiscal first-quarter revenue to increase about 45%, driven by strong AI infrastructure and cloud-storage demand. Its prior quarter exceeded analyst expectations for both revenue and earnings, while management’s fiscal 2027 EPS guidance remains solid. Western Digital Pre-Q1 Earnings
• Neutral Sentiment: Investors are waiting for the October 22 earnings report to determine whether accelerating AI and hyperscaler demand can support current earnings estimates and justify the stock’s valuation. Western Digital Earnings Preview
• Negative Sentiment: Wells Fargo reduced its price target for Western Digital, adding to bearish headlines even though the firm reportedly maintained a constructive view. The cuts have intensified concerns that expectations for the AI trade had become excessive. Friday’s First Moves
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that Toshiba’s planned hard-disk-drive capacity expansion could increase future supply and pricing pressure. Rising interest-rate risks and questions about whether roughly $1 trillion of hyperscaler capital spending can continue are also weighing on storage stocks. Seagate and Western Digital Face Supply Risks
• Negative Sentiment: A broader technology and memory-stock selloff, concerns about Chinese competition in server memory, and analyst commentary describing Western Digital as potentially near a cyclical peak have prompted investors to lock in gains after its substantial advance. Memory Stocks Extend Selloff on China Competition Fears

Western Digital Company Profile

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.