Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Raised to “Outperform” at Sanford C. Bernstein

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was upgraded by Sanford C. Bernstein from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a $340.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock. Sanford C. Bernstein’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 14.20% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WDC. Bank of America raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $197.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 20th. Susquehanna reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $285.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, February 6th. UBS Group set a $306.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 30th. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, February 21st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $275.75.

Western Digital Trading Up 10.1%

WDC stock opened at $297.73 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.19, a current ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $319.62. The company has a market cap of $100.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.86, a PEG ratio of 0.62 and a beta of 1.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $275.42 and a 200-day moving average of $197.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.20. The business had revenue of $3.02 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 41.53% and a net margin of 35.52%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 25.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.77 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 10,148 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.31, for a total value of $2,743,105.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 107,794 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,137,796.14. The trade was a 8.60% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 121,682 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $32,643,630.14. This represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 92,795 shares of company stock valued at $24,265,884. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Alps Advisors Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Alps Advisors Inc. now owns 4,707 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $811,000 after purchasing an additional 37 shares during the period. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Quadcap Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,007 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $346,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the period. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 2.6% in the fourth quarter. Moss Adams Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $341,000 after buying an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 19.4% in the fourth quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 369 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after buying an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. CYBER HORNET ETFs LLC now owns 889 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $153,000 after buying an additional 60 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bernstein upgraded WDC to Outperform and doubled its price target to $340, calling the recent selloff an overreaction and labeling WDC an “attractive entry point” — this upgrade is the clearest near-term catalyst lifting the stock. Wall Street Thinks Western Digital Stock Price Will Soar Higher This Year
• Positive Sentiment: JetStor announced an 80PB high-density archive deployment for a government agency using Western Digital’s Ultrastar high-capacity drives — a direct enterprise win that supports demand for WDC’s data-center and archive HDD products. JetStor Delivers 80PB High-Density Archive for Government Agency Using WD’s Trusted High-Capacity Ultrastar Drives
• Positive Sentiment: Memory and storage names led the Nasdaq rally today as investors chased momentum and dip-buying in the sector — that rotation into memory stocks is boosting WDC along with peers. Nasdaq Adds to Its Rally. Memory Stocks Led the Charge.
• Positive Sentiment: Analysis pieces argue the recent algorithm-driven selloff created a buying opportunity for memory/storage names given robust AI/cloud demand — this narrative supports continued inflows into WDC. Memory Wipe: The Great TurboQuant Miscalculation (WDC)
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage of SanDisk’s spectacular post-spinoff run highlights strong AI-driven end-market demand for memory products — positive industry context but not a direct business update for WDC. Sandisk’s Path to $1,000 Per Share Runs Through the AI Memory Boom
• Neutral Sentiment: Broad analyst coverage (Zacks, others) reiterates that Wall Street views WDC as a strong AI/storage play — helpful for sentiment but varies across firms and time horizons. Wall Street Analysts Think Western Digital (WDC) Is a Good Investment: Is It?
• Negative Sentiment: Underlying volatility remains: recent algorithmic selling and a cooling in memory stocks earlier this week remind investors that WDC remains exposed to sentiment-driven swings. That risk can reverse gains quickly if headlines or demand outlooks shift. Memory Stocks Were One of 2025’s Hottest Trades. Now They’ve Cooled Off.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation is a global data storage company that designs, manufactures and sells a broad range of storage devices and systems for personal, enterprise and cloud applications. Headquartered in San Jose, California, the company develops hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives (SSDs), NAND flash components and finished storage products used in PCs, external storage, servers, network-attached storage (NAS) and embedded systems.

Its product portfolio spans consumer and commercial markets, including internal and external HDDs and SSDs, removable flash memory products and storage platforms for data center and enterprise environments.