Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 1.5% on Insider Selling

Shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) fell 1.5% during trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The company traded as low as $443.02 and last traded at $462.00. Approximately 7,534,950 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 15% from the average daily volume of 8,823,615 shares. The stock had previously closed at $468.88.

Specifically, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the transaction, the insider owned 112,155 shares in the company, valued at $53,650,465.80. This trade represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 476 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.78, for a total value of $214,571.28. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 114,784 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $51,742,331.52. This represents a 0.41% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 684 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $446.17, for a total value of $305,180.28. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 112,146 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $50,036,180.82. The trade was a 0.61% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Mizuho set a $590.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 6th. Evercore restated an “outperform” rating and set a $575.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, May 26th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $676.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price target on Western Digital from $800.00 to $740.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 7th. 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 currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $534.56.

Western Digital News Roundup

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital’s long-term outlook remains supported by demand for AI infrastructure, cloud computing, enterprise storage, automotive systems and other data-intensive applications. Analysts at Zacks continue to identify WDC as a potential beneficiary of strong memory and storage demand, particularly following Nvidia’s solid results. 4 High-Flying Memory and Storage Giants
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s latest quarterly results provide fundamental support: revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion, while earnings of $3.56 per share exceeded expectations. Guidance for $3.85 to $4.15 in next-quarter EPS also remains constructive.
• Positive Sentiment: Wall Street’s consensus remains bullish, with a “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target above the current trading level. Several firms have cited continued AI and storage demand as reasons for further upside. Wall Street’s Bullish Views on WDC
• Neutral Sentiment: Insider Cynthia Tregillis sold a small portion of her holdings under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. The transactions modestly reduce her position but do not necessarily signal deteriorating confidence. Cynthia Tregillis Insider Transactions
• Negative Sentiment: Memory and storage stocks sold off even after Nvidia reported strong results, suggesting investors are taking profits from an extended AI trade and differentiating among suppliers. Western Digital’s underperformance versus peers has amplified concern that expectations or valuation may have become too aggressive. Why Memory Stocks Fell Despite Nvidia’s Results

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $526.99 and its 200 day simple moving average is $439.63. The stock has a market capitalization of $158.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.98 and a beta of 2.14.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.66 EPS. The firm’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. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Announces Dividend

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

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rakuten Securities Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4,070.0% in the second quarter. Rakuten Securities Inc. now owns 417 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 407 shares during the last quarter. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Valley Wealth Managers Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $32,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.