Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 7.4% – Here’s Why

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price fell 7.4% during mid-day trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $361.11 and last traded at $366.11. Approximately 8,844,102 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 2% from the average daily volume of 8,679,061 shares. The stock had previously closed at $395.41.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Western Digital reported fiscal first-quarter 2027 revenue of $4.38 billion, non-GAAP EPS of $4.64 and free cash flow of $1.38 billion, exceeding expectations. Management also forecast approximately $5.1 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue and $5.80 in non-GAAP EPS, signaling continued strength in AI-related data-center storage demand. Western Digital slides as strong results fail to calm spending and sector worries
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets remain well above the current trading level, with Quiver Quantitative citing a six-month median target of $650. Several analysts view Western Digital as a major beneficiary of AI infrastructure expansion and rising demand for high-capacity nearline hard drives. Western Digital selloff and analyst targets
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital and Seagate are both benefiting from AI data-center spending. However, comparisons favor Seagate on some metrics, including return on equity, valuation and free-cash-flow generation, potentially affecting investor preference within the storage group. Seagate versus Western Digital
• Negative Sentiment: Investors are questioning whether AI infrastructure spending and lofty storage-sector valuations can remain sustainable. A sharp decline in Sandisk and weakness across memory and semiconductor stocks amplified pressure on WDC, even after Sandisk delivered strong results and raised guidance. Memory-sector selloff
• Negative Sentiment: Quarterly capital spending of $227 million, continued buybacks and capacity and technology-transition needs have raised concerns about cash demands and future returns. Profit-taking after WDC’s substantial earlier advance may also be contributing to the decline. Quiver also reports 110 insider sales and no insider purchases over the past six months, an additional sentiment headwind. Western Digital spending and insider activity

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Robert W. Baird set a $900.00 price objective on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. TD Cowen cut their target price on Western Digital from $540.00 to $430.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane increased their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Argus reduced their target price on Western Digital from $600.00 to $500.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, October 26th. Finally, Wedbush raised their price target on Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $137.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.21, a P/E/G ratio of 1.29 and a beta of 2.11. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $421.46 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $416.75.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.11 by $0.53. The business had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 69.20% and a return on equity of 55.62%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be paid a dividend of $0.1750 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 4th. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. This represents a $0.70 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 2.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $444.97, for a total value of $8,899,400.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 575,966 shares in the company, valued at approximately $256,287,591.02. This trade represents a 3.36% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 807 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $380.00, for a total value of $306,660.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 108,928 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $41,392,640. This trade represents a 0.74% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 25,436 shares of company stock valued at $11,340,064. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 28.6% during the second quarter. Dogwood Wealth Management LLC now owns 90 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $57,000 after acquiring an additional 20 shares in the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% in the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.8% in the second quarter. Everpar Advisors LLC now owns 1,442 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 25 shares during the last quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 45.5% in the 2nd quarter. Ares Financial Consulting LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $51,000 after purchasing an additional 25 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 1,390 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $888,000 after purchasing an additional 28 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.