Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 5.2% on Analyst Upgrade

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) shares rose 5.2% during trading on Tuesday after Robert W. Baird raised their price target on the stock from $310.00 to $450.00. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Western Digital traded as high as $480.11 and last traded at $465.26. Approximately 9,610,669 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 3% from the average daily volume of 9,367,516 shares. The stock had previously closed at $442.36.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $405.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $405.00 to $450.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $335.00 to $500.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital to $660.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $488.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. Nineteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $395.83.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total transaction of $2,743,105.88. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,137,796.14. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total transaction of $9,616,638.18. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 72,711 shares of company stock valued at $19,191,604 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts and outlets lifting targets and reiterating a buy case on continued AI-driven HDD demand—247WallSt publishes a $513 (roughly $500) target, saying the AI upcycle and accelerating fundamentals support further upside. AI Boom Drives Western Digital Toward $500 Target
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst re-ratings after the Q3 beat: multiple outlets report analysts raising targets (one report cites targets as high as $660) following better-than-expected EPS and margin expansion, supporting bullish momentum. Western Digital Stock Surges as Analysts Set $660 Price Target
• Positive Sentiment: Robert W. Baird raised its price target to $450 and maintained an outperform rating—another institutional nod that reinforces buy-side conviction even after the recent run-up. Price Target Raised to $450.00 at Robert W. Baird
• Positive Sentiment: Bullish media/TV commentary: Jim Cramer and other commentators are calling storage names like WDC “still having room to run,” which can amplify retail interest and momentum flows in the short term. Jim Cramer Says ‘Overheated’ Storage Stocks Still Have Room To Run
• Positive Sentiment: Near-term corporate catalyst flagged: coverage notes a key June 5 date tied to dividend expectations—investors often trade on dividend hikes and yield re-rating for income-oriented chip/storage names. Mark Your Calendars for June 5
• Neutral Sentiment: The Sandisk spinoff (SNDK) has exploded since separation, highlighting strong demand/value in flash/Ai-memory—this is positive for sector sentiment but mixed for WDC specifically since SanDisk was the carved-out business. Sandisk Spun Off From Western Digital Just Last Year. Now It’s a $200B Company.
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage pieces (Zacks, TipRanks, Seeking Alpha, Barchart) are driving attention and debate over whether WDC’s run is sustainable; these articles summarize analyst expectations and relative positioning vs. Seagate without delivering new company-specific catalysts. Seagate and Western Digital Are a Hard Disk Drive Duopoly
• Neutral Sentiment: “Undercovered” and thematic watchlist pieces highlight WDC as a widely watched trader favorite after the quarter; useful for sentiment tracking but not immediate fundamental news. Undercovered Dozen: Western Digital

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. grew its stake in Western Digital by 7.7% during the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,698,000 after buying an additional 3,019 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 229.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $307,000. Cresset Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $292,000. Finally, Federated Hermes Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 55.3% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 2,374 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $152,000 after buying an additional 845 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34, a current ratio of 1.49 and a quick ratio of 1.20. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $314.33 and its 200 day moving average price is $234.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $157.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.78, a PEG ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 2.10.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $2.72 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.39 by $0.33. Western Digital had a net margin of 55.29% and a return on equity of 42.95%. The business had revenue of $3.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.25 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.36 earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue was up 45.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 3.100-3.400 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 8.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, June 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.15 per share. This represents a $0.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.1%. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.13. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, June 5th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 3.58%.

About Western Digital

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.