New York, June 26, 2026, 16:04 (EDT)
- Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ:WDC last changed hands at $589.54, off $85.85, or 12.7%. Shares moved in a range of $579.45 to $659.61.
- Even after the fall, WDC traded 5.2% higher than the average 12-month price target from Wall Street, which is $560.45. The Wall Street Journal
- The iShares Semiconductor ETF NASDAQ:SOXX dropped 4.5%. The Invesco QQQ Trust NASDAQ:QQQ slipped 0.8%.
- U.S. markets stayed open. Nasdaq’s 2026 calendar puts Juneteenth on June 19. Next full market closure is July 3 for Independence Day observed. Nasdaq
Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ:WDC slumped about 13% on Friday. The stock is still trading above the Wall Street average target, so the move doesn’t set up an obvious bargain trade for investors.
The stock was last seen at $589.54, with data near the close. That’s higher than the average analyst target of $560.45 and about 1.2% over the median target of $582.50, according to WSJ market data. WDC is still trading roughly 26% under its June 18 intraday high of $799.87. The Wall Street Journal
The gap is important. Without higher targets from analysts, WDC’s upside has to come from better earnings numbers, not a higher multiple. WSJ data put fiscal 2027 EPS estimates at $17.94, up from $13.57 three months earlier. At the last WDC price, shares were about 33 times that 2027 earnings number. The Wall Street Journal
Memory and storage names moved lower. Sandisk Corp NASDAQ:SNDK slipped 8.0%, Seagate Technology Holdings Plc NASDAQ:STX shed 11.9%, and Micron Technology Inc NASDAQ:MU lost 5.4% in recent trading.
Tech stocks didn’t see big losses. SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) slipped 0.2%, and QQQ dropped 0.8%. WDC lagged behind the semiconductor ETF by about 8 points and fell about 12 points more than QQQ.
Micron flipped direction a day after results revived talk of memory supply shortages. Reuters reported Apple Inc NASDAQ:AAPL will hike iPad and MacBook prices, with the company unable to keep eating higher memory and storage costs. Reuters also said Micron customers have committed to $22 billion in chip orders. Reuters
Western Digital looks more focused on hard drives and storage infrastructure after finishing its Sandisk spin-off. The company said it wrapped up flash separation in February 2025. From then, Sandisk results aren’t part of WDC’s financials. Western Digital Corporation
Western Digital Corporation’s last quarter handed bulls plenty to chew on. WDC posted fiscal Q3 revenue of $3.34 billion, a 45% gain on the year. Non-GAAP gross margin reached 50.5%. Free cash flow was $978 million. Looking to the fiscal fourth quarter, the company guided for revenue of $3.65 billion, give or take $100 million, with non-GAAP gross margin expected between 51% and 52%. Western Digital Corporation
Chief Executive Irving Tan said in April, “Virtually every AI workload” generates data that ends up on HDDs. That’s the basic pitch for the stock: AI training and inference have to store data, so hyperscale demand may hold up pricing longer than in past storage cycles.
Micron CEO Sanjay Mehrotra called the company’s results “record” this week, repeating comments about the “strategic value of memory in the AI era.” Micron reported third-quarter capital spending of $7.1 billion and adjusted free cash flow of $18.3 billion. Micron Technology
WDC is caught in a crowded trade now. Reuters said the Philadelphia SE Semiconductor Index jumped over 90% from its late-March low and then pulled back this week. Julia Hermann, global market strategist at New York Life Investment Management, said tech gains have been “concentrated in memory-related equities” and questioned if higher rates could put that at risk. Reuters
Citi’s Asiya Merchant boosted Sandisk’s target price to $2,500 from $2,025, keeping a Buy after Micron’s report, Barron’s said. Even with analysts sticking to bullish calls on memory pricing, Friday saw the stocks fall. Barron’s
WDC’s upcoming earnings report is set for Aug. 5, WSJ data shows. The print faces pressure on two fronts: the market wants to know if margins stay close to guidance, and if the higher estimates can keep up with a stock still above the Street average target.
