Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Falls 2.6% – Here’s Why

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price fell 2.6% during trading on Monday. The stock traded as low as $385.89 and last traded at $386.94. Approximately 5,353,813 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 38% from the average session volume of 8,624,971 shares. The stock had previously closed at $397.28.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WDC. Melius Research set a $1,050.00 target price on Western Digital and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, June 29th. UBS Group set a $470.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday. Zacks Research downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, October 5th. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $650.00 to $715.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, July 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $618.63.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $144.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.98, a P/E/G ratio of 1.68 and a beta of 2.11. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $456.06 and a 200-day simple moving average of $475.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $3.75 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 72.95% and a return on equity of 48.15%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 43.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. Analysts expect that Western Digital Corporation will post 19.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, September 17th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, September 8th were given a $0.15 dividend. This represents a $0.60 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, September 8th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.48%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total transaction of $481,708.52. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% 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. Insiders sold 25,437 shares of company stock valued at $11,461,345 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in Western Digital by 71.4% during the 2nd quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 230,578 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $147,275,000 after acquiring an additional 96,078 shares during the last quarter. OMERS ADMINISTRATION Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $19,694,000. NewEdge Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $14,466,000. OneAscent Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $1,599,000. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $8,307,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

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.