Western Digital Corporation $WDC Stake Lowered by Avala Global LP

Avala Global LP decreased its stake in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 189,100 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 46,200 shares during the period. Western Digital comprises 0.9% of Avala Global LP’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Avala Global LP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $22,703,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 124.5% in the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 117 shares during the period. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 551.4% during the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 204 shares during the period. Grove Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $30,000. 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: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $272.29 on Friday. Western Digital Corporation has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $309.90. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. The stock has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.76. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $255.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.77 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be given a $0.125 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 5th. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is 5.02%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital to $340.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 4th. New Street Research set a $250.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Digital to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, February 2nd. Finally, Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $285.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, February 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.58.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 107,794 shares in the company, valued at $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $260.43, for a total value of $9,616,638.18. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.