TLDR
- WDC hit an all-time high of $366.30, with a 1-year return of 929%
- Market cap now stands at $123.75 billion
- Q4 EPS of $2.13 beat estimates of $1.93; revenue up 25.2% year-over-year to $3.02B
- S&P Global upgraded WDC to ‘BBB-‘ following debt reduction moves
- Insiders sold ~92,795 shares worth $24.3M over the last 90 days
Western Digital hit an all-time high of $366.30 on Thursday, capping a 929% run over the past 12 months.
Western Digital Corporation, WDC
The stock opened at $365.00 and carries a market cap of $123.75 billion. Its 50-day moving average sits at $289.34, and its 200-day moving average is $213.17 â both well below where the stock is trading today.
The 52-week range tells the full story: WDC went from a low of $35.00 to Thursday’s record high. That’s not a typo.
Strong Earnings Fueling the Move
Western Digital posted Q4 earnings of $2.13 per share, beating the $1.93 consensus estimate by $0.20. Revenue came in at $3.02 billion, topping the $2.93 billion estimate and up 25.2% from the same quarter last year.
Return on equity was 41.53%, with a net margin of 35.52%. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of $4.89.
The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share, paid on March 18th. That’s a $0.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.1%.
S&P Global Ratings upgraded WDC to ‘BBB-‘ after the company redeemed all outstanding 4.750% senior notes due in 2026. The upgrade reflects Western Digital’s debt reduction strategy, which has also included exchanging Sandisk stock for liabilities.
Western Digital also plans to sell up to 7.5 million Sandisk shares, per a recent regulatory filing. Proceeds won’t go to Sandisk â Western Digital holds those shares directly.
Institutional Buying Picks Up
Institutional investors own 92.51% of WDC. KBC Group NV raised its stake by 166.7% in Q4, adding 373,199 shares to hold 597,009 total, worth around $102.85 million.
Vanguard Group holds 43.28 million shares. WCM Investment Management opened a new position worth $791.3 million. Northern Trust and Dimensional Fund Advisors each raised their stakes by over 11% in Q3.
Fred Alger Management made the most aggressive move, growing its position by 4,923.9% in Q3, adding over 3.3 million shares.
Bernstein SocGen Group upgraded WDC to Outperform, calling the recent selloff in hard disk drive and memory stocks a buying opportunity.
Analyst coverage is broadly positive: 21 analysts rate WDC a Buy, three have it at Hold. The average price target is $288.33 â now well below where the stock is trading.
Citigroup has the most bullish target at $405.00, issued on Monday with a Buy rating. Cantor Fitzgerald has an Overweight rating with a $325.00 target.
On the insider side, the picture is more mixed. Insiders sold 92,795 shares worth $24.3 million over the last 90 days. Insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 9,324 shares on March 4th at $268.27. Director Matthew E. Massengill sold 36,926 shares on February 5th at $260.43.
Insiders now own just 0.18% of the company.
InvestingPro data flags that the stock is trading above its Fair Value, even as revenue growth of 28% over the last twelve months supports the bullish case.
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