Cinctive Capital Management LP Sells 108,435 Shares of Western Digital Corporation $WDC

Cinctive Capital Management LP cut its stake in shares of Western Digital Corporation (NASDAQ:WDC) by 73.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 39,355 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after selling 108,435 shares during the period. Cinctive Capital Management LP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $4,725,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. 44 Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. 44 Wealth Management LLC now owns 9,329 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,120,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the period. Addison Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 7.1% during the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 1,281 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $154,000 after buying an additional 85 shares during the period. Pure Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 3.1% in the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $430,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 57.7% in the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 309 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 113 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 3.0% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,871 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $465,000 after buying an additional 114 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.3%

NASDAQ WDC opened at $272.29 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $92.32 billion, a PE ratio of 27.31, a PEG ratio of 0.63 and a beta of 1.75. Western Digital Corporation has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $309.90. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $255.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.83. The company has a current ratio of 1.46, a quick ratio of 1.19 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.34.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $2.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $3.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.93 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 35.52% and a return on equity of 41.53%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 25.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.77 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Corporation will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, March 18th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, March 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, March 5th. Western Digital’s payout ratio is currently 5.02%.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Investor focus on tight high-capacity HDD supply for cloud/AI workloads and Western Digital’s expanded $4.0 billion share-repurchase authorization is supporting the rally; the company’s Innovation Day roadmap (40TB UltraSMR ePMR HDD in hyperscaler qualification) reinforces the growth narrative for AI storage. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Positive Sentiment: Customer narrative pieces highlight strong enterprise demand for hard drives, which backs the thesis that nearline/HDD capacity remains tight and pricing power could persist. Customer Narrative on Hard Drives Bodes Well for Western Digital (WDC)
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst sentiment and relative performance remain constructive: WDC has materially outperformed the broader tech sector over the past year and multiple brokers maintain bullish ratings and elevated price targets, which provides momentum and buy-side interest. How Is Western Digital’s Stock Performance Compared to Other Technology Stocks?
• Positive Sentiment: Media commentators (e.g., Jim Cramer) have included WDC on watchlists as a name to buy on market dips, which can amplify flows when broader-market pullbacks occur. Cramer: Buy Western Digital, Micron, Seagate on oil-driven dips
• Neutral Sentiment: Partnership/solution announcements (e.g., VDURA combining WD Ultrastar hybrid platforms with cloud-scale AI file architecture) extend product reach but are incremental until they produce visible revenue/contract wins. VDURA to Combine Scalable WD Ultrastar Hybrid Storage Platforms with Cloud-Scale AI File Architecture
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling has been heavy recently (multiple exec sales reported), which can be interpreted negatively by some investors and may weigh on sentiment despite company-level buybacks. Western Digital (WDC) rises 3.5% as AI-storage demand narrative and recent buyback authorization continue to support shares
• Negative Sentiment: Macro pressure from rising oil and choppy futures can drag broader tech names; recent headlines show futures slipping as oil jumps, which can trigger short-term volatility for WDC. Dow Jones Futures Fall As Oil Prices Run Past $90; Oracle, Nvidia Lift These AI Names
• Negative Sentiment: Short-term pullbacks have occurred (coverage noting WDC fell more than the broader market), so momentum can reverse quickly after a sharp rally — watch valuation and volume on moves. Western Digital (WDC) Falls More Steeply Than Broader Market: What Investors Need to Know

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WDC. Evercore reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Truist Financial set a $310.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 3rd. Robert W. Baird set a $310.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 2nd. TD Cowen increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $200.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, January 30th. Finally, Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $240.00 to $325.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $265.58.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $268.27, for a total transaction of $2,501,349.48. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 121,682 shares in the company, valued at $32,643,630.14. This trade represents a 7.12% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $255.44, for a total value of $5,108,800.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 623,586 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $159,288,807.84. This trade represents a 3.11% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 92,795 shares of company stock worth $24,265,884 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

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.