Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Outperform Rating from Wedbush

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Wedbush’s target price points to a potential upside of 31.36% from the stock’s previous close. Wedbush also issued estimates for Western Digital’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.71 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.82 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.72 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $2.24 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.49 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $3.40 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $3.97 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $3.03 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $3.00 EPS.

WDC has been the subject of a number of other reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reissued a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.95.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded up $6.00 on Friday, hitting $72.32. 8,549,643 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,135,558. The company has a market capitalization of $25.00 billion, a PE ratio of -39.80 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $65.31 and its 200 day moving average is $69.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $35.62 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.