Park West Asset Management LLC Takes Position in Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Park West Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor bought 40,027 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $25,566,000. Western Digital accounts for 1.7% of Park West Asset Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 24th largest holding.

Other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth $29,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $32,000. Ares Financial Consulting LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% during the 2nd quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares during the period. Finally, Dogwood Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 28.6% in the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $57,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital disclosed exchange agreements covering approximately $191 million of its 3.00% convertible notes due 2028. The transaction will provide holders with cash and shares, potentially reducing debt, although the stock component could create some dilution. The exchanges are expected to close on or after September 2. Western Digital convertible notes article
• Positive Sentiment: Investors continue to see support from AI, cloud and data-center demand. Western Digital recently reported quarterly revenue of $3.75 billion, up 43.8% year over year, and non-GAAP EPS of $3.56 versus the $3.31 consensus. Management’s next-quarter outlook also points to continued strong growth. Western Digital debt exchange and AI demand analysis
• Positive Sentiment: A hammer chart pattern suggests technical support after the stock’s recent decline, while upward earnings-estimate revisions may improve the likelihood of a near-term rebound. Western Digital bottoming pattern article
• Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly favorable, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and a median recent price target of approximately $597.50. However, targets vary widely, reflecting uncertainty around valuation and execution.
• Negative Sentiment: Western Digital is assessing potential effects from new U.S. sanctions related to Iran, including possible compliance costs, supply-chain disruptions and impacts on contract manufacturing or shipments. Western Digital Iran sanctions exposure article
• Negative Sentiment: Insider activity has been heavily weighted toward sales, including transactions by executives and directors. The reported sales were made under pre-arranged trading plans, reducing their significance, but they remain a potential overhang for sentiment.
• Negative Sentiment: Broader caution toward highly valued AI and memory stocks, ahead of Nvidia’s earnings, and concerns about potential Chinese memory competition could pressure sector valuations and future pricing.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $468.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $161.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.37 and a beta of 2.14. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $538.41 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $438.22. Western Digital Corporation has a fifty-two week low of $77.90 and a fifty-two 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%.Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.66 EPS. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, September 17th. Investors of record on Tuesday, September 8th will be issued a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.48%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $630.00 price target on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna raised their price objective on Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $450.00 to $620.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 27th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Western Digital from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have issued a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $534.56.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 808 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $529.63, for a total value of $427,941.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 114,539 shares in the company, valued at $60,663,290.57. This trade represents a 0.70% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 11th. The shares were 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 $256,287,591.02. The trade was a 3.36% decrease in their position. 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. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 24,634 shares of company stock worth $11,357,073. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.