Wedbush Issues Negative Outlook for Western Digital Earnings

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) – Equities research analysts at Wedbush decreased their Q3 2025 earnings per share estimates for Western Digital in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday, October 21st. Wedbush analyst M. Bryson now expects that the data storage provider will post earnings of $1.72 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $2.40. Wedbush currently has a “Outperform” rating and a $95.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Western Digital’s current full-year earnings is $7.75 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Western Digital’s Q4 2025 earnings at $2.24 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.49 EPS and Q1 2026 earnings at $3.40 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.09.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.7 %

Western Digital stock opened at $69.45 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $65.42 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.70. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the 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 sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $273,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $437,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $299,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 8.6% in the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 822,281 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $56,112,000 after buying an additional 64,980 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.