Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $257.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target lifted by Bank of America from $197.00 to $257.00 in a research note published on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. Bank of America currently has a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Western Digital to $228.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $250.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, December 16th. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $135.00 to $205.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Mizuho set a $240.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.76.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.7%

Western Digital stock opened at $222.97 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.94, a current ratio of 1.21 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.42. The company has a market capitalization of $76.23 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 1.78. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $177.73 and its 200 day moving average is $127.05. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $230.48.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $2.82 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.72 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 21.37% and a return on equity of 30.89%. The business’s revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.78 earnings per share. Western Digital has set its Q2 2026 guidance at 1.730-2.030 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, December 18th. Investors of record on Thursday, December 4th were issued a dividend of $0.125 per share. This represents a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.2%. This is a boost from Western Digital’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.10. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 4th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is presently 7.28%.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, November 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $97,265,422.23. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 2,801 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $160.57, for a total value of $449,756.57. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 144,596 shares in the company, valued at $23,217,779.72. The trade was a 1.90% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 26,369 shares of company stock valued at $4,013,785. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 7.7% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 41,988 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,698,000 after purchasing an additional 3,019 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 229.7% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 967 shares during the period. Sivia Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $307,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 94.4% during the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 56,058 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,704,000 after buying an additional 27,220 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.2% during the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 71,070 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,548,000 after acquiring an additional 872 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Western Digital

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

• Positive Sentiment: Bank of America raised its WDC price target to $257 and reaffirmed a Buy rating, signaling confidence in pricing and margin upside for WDC. Bank of America resets WDC price target
• Positive Sentiment: Rosenblatt Securities raised its price target to $270 and kept a Buy rating, another institutional upgrade that adds upward pressure to consensus estimates. Rosenblatt raises WDC target
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst commentary and sector research (memory/AI storage) argue that constrained supply, firm pricing and rising margins could sustain gains for WDC and peers — reinforcing the bullish analyst actions. Why Memory Stocks Like Western Digital May Still Rally From Here, Analysts Say
• Positive Sentiment: Notable investors (including several billionaires) added WDC to portfolios in recent quarters, a signal of confidence from large allocators into AI-infrastructure plays. Billionaires Buy 2 Artificial Intelligence (AI) Stocks Up 830% and 1,180% Since 2023
• Neutral Sentiment: Western Digital announced an Innovation Day on Feb 3 (NYC + webcast) to showcase AI-focused storage products — this is a near-term catalyst where product details or roadmap guidance could move the stock. Western Digital to Host Innovation Day 2026 in New York City
• Neutral Sentiment: A recent valuation/coverage piece reviews analyst upgrades and rising earnings expectations tied to AI storage demand — useful context but not a direct catalyst beyond the upgrades themselves. Western Digital (WDC) Valuation Check As Analyst Upgrades And AI Storage Optimism Drive Earnings Expectations
• Neutral Sentiment: Consumer promotion: a temporary discount on a WD_Black Xbox expansion card surfaced — minor for enterprise-facing AI storage economics but noteworthy for retail product momentum. WD_Black 1TB Storage Expansion Card for Xbox Drops to $0.15 per GB With Its First Discount of the Year

About Western Digital

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.