Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Falls 5% – Here’s Why

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price fell 5% during trading on Friday. The company traded as low as $286.54 and last traded at $295.65. 4,760,147 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 45% from the average daily volume of 8,668,227 shares. The stock had previously closed at $311.21.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the company. Mizuho set a $490.00 target price on Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Susquehanna set a $405.00 target price on Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Wall Street Zen downgraded Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, October 31st. BNP Paribas Exane upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $900.00 to $625.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $591.04.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $391.72 and a 200 day moving average of $420.40. The company has a market capitalization of $110.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.47, a PEG ratio of 1.10 and a beta of 2.27.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 22nd. The data storage provider reported $4.64 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.11 by $0.53. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The company had revenue of $4.38 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.14 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.78 earnings per share. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. Western Digital’s payout ratio is presently 2.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Cynthia Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $478.36, for a total value of $481,708.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $53,650,465.80. This represents a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction 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. Also, insider Vidyadhara Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 5,436 shares of company stock valued at $2,440,664. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mowery & Schoenfeld Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $28,000. Dunhill Financial LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Stonehage Fleming Financial Services Holdings Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $31,000. Gables Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $32,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 182.6% in the 3rd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 65 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ: WDC) develops and supplies hard disk drives (HDDs) and related data-storage products. Its drives serve data centers and cloud providers, as well as businesses and consumers who need storage for computers, network-attached storage systems, surveillance and other applications. Its product brands include WD and Ultrastar. Founded in 1970, the company began as an electronics and semiconductor business before expanding into data storage. In February 2025, Western Digital completed the separation of its flash-memory business into the independently traded SanDisk Corporation, leaving Western Digital focused on HDDs.