TLDR
- Western Digital surged ~13% in Thursday premarket after Micron reported stronger-than-expected Q3 earnings
- Micron posted EPS of $25.11 on $41.46B revenue and guided Q4 EPS of ~$31 on ~$50B revenue
- WDC trades 22% above its 20-day moving average; 52-week high sits at $799.87
- Analysts hold a consensus “Moderate Buy” with several firms recently raising price targets
- Friedenthal Financial disclosed a new $1.08M stake in WDC; institutions own 92.51% of the stock
Western Digital stock jumped roughly 13% in Thursday’s premarket session, hitting $726.00, after Micron Technology posted blowout quarterly results that lifted the entire memory and storage sector.
Western Digital Corporation, WDC
Micron reported fiscal Q3 adjusted EPS of $25.11 on revenue of $41.46 billion — both ahead of expectations. It then guided fiscal Q4 EPS of around $31 on roughly $50 billion in revenue, well above what the Street was expecting.
That was enough to send WDC, SanDisk (SNDK), and other memory-adjacent names sharply higher in early trading. A broader risk-on tone helped too, with S&P 500 futures up 0.7% ahead of the open.
WDC opened Thursday at $641.73, up from the prior session. The 52-week range runs from a low of $62.13 to a high of $799.87 — a range that tells the story of just how dramatic this recovery has been.
Technical Setup Stays Bullish
From a technical standpoint, WDC is firmly in breakout territory. The stock sits about 22% above its 20-day moving average of $592.54, 44.5% above the 50-day at $500.30, and a striking 162.9% above the 200-day average of $275.00.
The MACD is above its signal line with a positive histogram, which points to strengthening buying momentum. The moving average stack — 20-day above 50-day above 200-day — keeps the longer-term trend intact. Next resistance is the 52-week high at $799.87.
Western Digital is due to report its own quarterly results on or around July 29. Wall Street expects EPS of $3.27, up from $1.66 a year ago, on revenue of $3.70 billion versus $2.60 billion in the prior-year period.
The most recent quarterly print, reported April 30, came in at $2.72 EPS — beating the $2.39 consensus by $0.33. Revenue of $3.34 billion was up 45.5% year over year. Net margin came in at 55.29%.
Analyst and Institutional Activity
Multiple analysts have raised their price targets recently. Morgan Stanley lifted its target to $650, JPMorgan moved to $650, Mizuho went to $685, and Cantor Fitzgerald set a $660 target. Wells Fargo raised its target to $575 with an Overweight rating. The consensus sits at Moderate Buy.
Friedenthal Financial disclosed a new stake of 3,998 shares valued at approximately $1.08 million in its Q1 13F filing. Institutions now own 92.51% of WDC’s outstanding stock.
On the insider side, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares on May 1 at an average of $411.84, totaling $8.24 million. The sale was executed under a pre-arranged 10b5-1 plan.
Western Digital also raised its quarterly dividend from $0.12 to $0.15 per share, paid June 17. The annualized dividend now stands at $0.60, representing a 0.1% yield.
The stock carries a P/E of 38.31 and a market cap of approximately $221 billion. Full-year EPS is forecast at $9.60, according to analyst consensus.
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