Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives $534.56 Consensus PT from Brokerages

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) has been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-five analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eighteen have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price objective among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $534.56.

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $400.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 1st. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $676.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $800.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, June 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the completion of 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 sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $8,899,400.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 26,117 shares of company stock worth $12,053,353. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Formuepleje A S bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,505,000. Tucker Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 73.4% in the second quarter. Tucker Asset Management LLC now owns 1,474 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $941,000 after purchasing an additional 624 shares in the last quarter. Tobias Financial Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $436,000. Groupe la Francaise increased its position in Western Digital by 25,480.0% in the second quarter. Groupe la Francaise now owns 7,674 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,902,000 after purchasing an additional 7,644 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsbury Capital Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at $319,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital News Summary

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s AI- and cloud-storage growth thesis remains intact. Industry momentum from AI infrastructure, cloud computing, the Internet of Things and automotive applications is supporting expectations for continued demand. 3 Storage Devices Stocks to Buy as the Industry Gains Momentum
• Positive Sentiment: A recent exchange of approximately $191 million of 3% convertible notes due 2028 is viewed as constructive liability management because it can reduce debt, although issuing shares may create some dilution. What’s Going on With Western Digital Stock on Wednesday?
• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital recently reported revenue growth of 44% year over year to $3.75 billion and earnings of $3.56 per share, exceeding estimates. Its next-quarter earnings guidance of $3.85 to $4.15 per share also supports the bullish fundamental case.
• Positive Sentiment: Technical and analyst indicators remain favorable: a recent hammer chart pattern suggested potential support, while upward earnings-estimate revisions and a bullish Wall Street consensus point to possible longer-term recovery. Western Digital May Find a Bottom Soon

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $462.00 on Tuesday. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $532.72 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $439.49. The stock has a market cap of $159.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.08 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $77.90 and a 52-week high of $799.87.

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

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

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.