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

Zacks Research cut 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.

WDC has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price target 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. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, June 29th. Finally, Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Monday, September 28th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $534.56.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.4%

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $405.42 on Monday. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $112.52 and a 1 year high of $799.87. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $461.80 and a 200-day moving average of $474.01. The stock has a market capitalization of $151.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.74 and a beta of 2.11.

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

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 575,966 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 432 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total transaction of $194,918.40. Following the transaction, the insider owned 111,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,096,736. The trade was a 0.39% 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. Insiders sold a total of 25,437 shares of company stock worth $11,461,345 over the last three months. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company 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 position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at about $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $350,403,000. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 15.5% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,146,133 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $310,018,000 after buying an additional 153,600 shares during the period. 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: AI data-center expansion continues to support long-term demand for high-capacity HDD storage. Analysts note that AI workloads create substantial data-storage needs, potentially benefiting Western Digital even though the company trails some memory-chip peers. Seagate vs. Western Digital: Which HDD Stock Has More Room to Run?
• Positive Sentiment: Some analysts remain constructive after Western Digital’s strong recent earnings, which included revenue growth and earnings above consensus. One report argues that the selloff could represent a buying opportunity if elevated storage demand persists. Western Digital Fell Nearly 20% Over The Last 3 Months
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s discounted 20TB external hard drive is attracting attention, but the promotion could reflect either strong consumer demand or inventory clearance. The impact on the company’s financial outlook is unclear. WD 20TB Desktop Hard Drive Drops Close to 10TB Pricing
• Negative Sentiment: Toshiba’s plan to nearly double HDD production for AI data centers is raising concerns about future oversupply, pricing pressure and Western Digital’s market share. Toshiba and Seagate are also reportedly competing for TDK’s magnetic-heads business, intensifying the sector’s competitive and supply-chain uncertainty. Is Western Digital Fully Valued After Toshiba’s HDD Expansion Plan?
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is lagging SanDisk and Micron because those companies benefit from tight memory-chip supply and advance sales commitments, while HDD makers face greater uncertainty over production and pricing. SanDisk and Micron Rise as Tight Memory Supply Outruns a Softer Tech Tape
• Negative Sentiment: Zacks Research downgraded Western Digital from “strong buy” to “hold,” adding to concerns that the stock’s valuation already reflects much of the AI-storage opportunity. Rising Treasury yields and a broad technology-stock selloff are further weighing on investor sentiment. Western Digital Rating Lowered to Hold at Zacks Research

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.