Kentucky Retirement Systems Cuts Stock Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Kentucky Retirement Systems lessened its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 20.0% during the first quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 17,380 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 4,351 shares during the period. Kentucky Retirement Systems’ holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,701,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $32,000. IMG Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 853.8% in the first quarter. IMG Wealth Management Inc. now owns 124 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 111 shares in the last quarter. Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 33.3% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 132 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 33 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 80.2% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 146 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Memory stocks rallied across the market, with the Roundhill Memory ETF and semiconductor indexes also advancing. Western Digital participated in the sector-wide rebound as investors returned to AI and data-center hardware names. Memory Stocks Surge. SanDisk Tops S&P 500 Gainers
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary argued that a semiconductor oversupply cycle is unlikely before 2028 because the physical infrastructure needed to create excess capacity is not yet available. That view supports continued pricing power and demand for memory and storage products. Top Chip Analyst on Semiconductor Oversupply
• Positive Sentiment: Strong demand for hard drives and tighter global supply expectations are improving the outlook for Western Digital’s revenue, margins and cash generation. Positive results from Seagate also boosted confidence in Western Digital as a storage-industry peer. Why Is Western Digital Stock Surging?
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s upcoming earnings report is the next major catalyst. Investors will assess whether AI-driven demand, pricing and supply constraints are translating into higher margins and favorable guidance; Wall Street currently expects year-over-year earnings growth. Western Digital Reports Next Week
• Negative Sentiment: Concerns remain about competition from China’s ChangXin Memory Technologies following its strong market debut, while the broader memory trade has experienced sharp volatility. These factors could pressure valuations if investors begin to expect supply growth or weaker pricing.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 808 shares worth approximately $428,000 under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plan. The sale represented only 0.70% of her holdings, making it a limited negative signal. Western Digital Insider Sale

Western Digital Stock Up 15.4%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $533.04 on Friday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $566.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $406.62. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $73.14 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The firm has a market cap of $183.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.82 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.39 by $0.33. The company had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.25 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 42.95% and a net margin of 55.29%.Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.36 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 9.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total transaction of $427,941.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. This represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total value of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 85,154 shares in the company, valued at $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 9,767 shares of company stock worth $4,822,807. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their target price on Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Fox Advisors cut Western Digital from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, June 22nd. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price target on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, June 12th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $520.32.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.