What is Wedbush’s Forecast for Western Digital Q1 Earnings?

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) – Investment analysts at Wedbush lowered their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Western Digital in a research note issued on Tuesday, January 21st. Wedbush analyst M. Bryson now forecasts that the data storage provider will earn $2.83 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $3.03. Wedbush 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 $6.26 per share. Wedbush also issued estimates for Western Digital’s Q3 2026 earnings at $3.28 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $3.27 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $13.04 EPS.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price objective on Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, January 17th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.65.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $68.63 on Wednesday. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $66.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.37 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. Western Digital’s revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Sachem Head Capital Management LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% during the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 304.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $53,750,000 after buying an additional 534,168 shares during the period. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 240.5% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 675,875 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $51,211,000 after buying an additional 477,390 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Western Digital

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.