Wedbush Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)

Wedbush reissued their outperform rating on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research note published on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock. 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.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday. Finally, TD Cowen cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

Western Digital stock opened at $69.45 on Friday. Western Digital has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Park Avenue Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $437,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $36,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 8.6% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 822,281 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,112,000 after acquiring an additional 64,980 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 14.9% in the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,688 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $388,000 after acquiring an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fountainhead AM LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $239,000. Institutional investors 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.