Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 6.8% – Here’s Why

06 Nov 2026, 20:00 by Scott Moore · The Cerbat Gem

Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report)’s stock price fell 6.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday. The company traded as low as $321.60 and last traded at $323.83. Approximately 7,211,482 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 17% from the average daily volume of 8,648,736 shares. The stock had previously closed at $347.35.

Key Western Digital News

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

Positive Sentiment: Storage and memory stocks recovered as investors reassessed fears that election-related policy changes would derail AI investment. Strategists say the AI buildout is still expected to continue, though potentially on a longer timeline. Western Digital Stock Rebounds as Wall Street Bets AI Storage Demand Outlasts Election Rout
Positive Sentiment: Fundamental commentary highlights stronger pricing, demand for higher-capacity hard drives, and operational efficiencies as drivers of Western Digital’s gross-margin expansion. Zacks Research also upgraded the stock from “hold” to “strong-buy.” Western Digital’s Gross Margin Momentum: How Long Can It Last?
Neutral Sentiment: Analyst sentiment remains broadly supportive, with a reported consensus Buy rating and average price target near $589. However, one valuation estimate was recently reduced from $650.67 to $613.38, reflecting a reassessment of HDD strength, spending plans, and future supply. Nasdaq Suffers Worst AI Panic in Years as Nvidia, SanDisk, and Western Digital Sink Western Digital Stock Sees Fair Value Cut
Negative Sentiment: Investors are concerned that proposed federal oversight, permitting restrictions, or caps on new data centers could slow AI infrastructure spending—an important source of expected storage demand. That concern drove a sharp selloff Thursday before the reported rebound. Why Are Western Digital Shares Falling on AI Data Center Policy Risk?

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley set a $668.00 price objective on Western Digital and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Citigroup lowered their target price on Western Digital from $740.00 to $660.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $625.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. BNP Paribas Exane upped their target price on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $800.00 to $650.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 23rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty-one have issued a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $591.04.

Read Our Latest Stock Report on Western Digital

Western Digital Trading Down 1.4%

The firm has a market cap of $98.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 2.27. The company has a 50 day moving average of $410.72 and a 200 day moving average of $418.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.14 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 55.62% and a net margin of 69.20%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 55.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.78 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Corporation will post 23.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, December 17th. Shareholders of record on Friday, December 4th will be given a dividend of $0.1750 per share. This is an increase from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.15. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, December 4th. This represents a $0.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.3%. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 2.72%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 1,007 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 112,155 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $53,650,465.80. The trade was a 0.89% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total transaction of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 80,571 shares in the company, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This represents a 2.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 25,436 shares of company stock worth $11,340,064 over the last ninety days. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,602,927,000. ABS Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $1,226,342,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $885,565,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $627,606,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

(Get Free Report)

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.

Western Digital serves customers around the world.