Pacer Advisors Inc. Sells 87,914 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 52.1% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 80,861 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 87,914 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $21,872,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the 2nd quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 407 shares in the last quarter. Avion Wealth grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 163.8% during the 4th quarter. Avion Wealth now owns 182 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Valley Wealth Managers Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Swiss RE Ltd. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Finally, BOKF NA increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6,700.0% in the third quarter. BOKF NA now owns 272 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 268 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Key Western Digital News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly optimistic about Western Digital’s outlook, with recent price targets spanning approximately $500 to $900 and a reported median target of $575. The company’s strong earnings-surprise history also supports expectations for another quarterly beat. Are Wall Street Analysts Predicting Western Digital Stock Will Climb or Sink? Will Western Digital Beat Estimates Again?
• Positive Sentiment: Seagate Technology’s strong earnings report has increased investor interest in whether Western Digital can deliver a similar result, particularly after Western Digital’s previous quarter exceeded consensus estimates and management forecast further improvement in revenue, margins and earnings. Seagate Is Soaring After Its Strong Earnings Report
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital’s earnings release is the key near-term catalyst. The report could validate the company’s rally, but the sharp run-up means investors are likely to focus heavily on forward guidance, demand trends and margins. Is Western Digital Stock a Compelling Buy Ahead of Q4 Earnings?
• Negative Sentiment: The broader memory and storage sector sold off, with Western Digital, Seagate, Micron and other chip names falling together as investors reassessed elevated semiconductor valuations, competition risks and the sustainability of the sector’s extraordinary gains. Memory Stocks Cool
• Negative Sentiment: Pre-earnings de-risking and profit-taking appear to be weighing on WDC, while reported insider activity shows 157 sales and no purchases during the past six months. That pattern may reinforce caution, although insider sales do not necessarily indicate a change in business fundamentals. Western Digital Slides Ahead of Earnings

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $527.22 on Tuesday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $568.89 and a 200 day moving average of $411.17. The company has a market capitalization of $181.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.48 and a beta of 2.14. Western Digital Corporation has a 1-year low of $73.14 and a 1-year high of $799.87.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 2,475 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $556.24, for a total transaction of $1,376,694.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 85,154 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $47,366,060.96. This trade represents a 2.82% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the business’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 completion of the sale, the insider owned 114,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $60,663,290.57. The trade was a 0.70% 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. Insiders have sold 5,093 shares of company stock worth $2,751,337 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $340.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. TD Cowen upped their target price on Western Digital from $325.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Western Digital from $530.00 to $650.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, June 12th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $685.00 to $800.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $575.00 to $730.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $520.32.

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.