New York, February 6, 2026, 12:20 PM EST — Regular session
- Western Digital shares rebound, climbing about 6% by midday after Thursday’s drop.
- Storage stocks climbed as Wall Street bounced back.
- Traders are juggling a new CEO share-sale disclosure with the details of an increased buyback plan.
Western Digital shares surged close to 6% Friday, hitting around $276.60 by midday. The previous close was $260.19. The range spanned from $258.18 to $278.59 over the session.
Risk assets pushed higher, with storage stocks flat. Seagate Technology popped almost 4.5%, while NetApp tacked on 2.5%. The Dow climbed too—up about 1.5% during the morning hours.
Western Digital shares swung lower Thursday, losing 3.42% to close at $260.19. Investors bailed fast on any signs the rally was stalling. The stock now sits about 12% off its 52-week high at $296.50 and lagged Seagate on the session, per MarketWatch data.
Headline risk around insider trades has been contributing to the selling. A recent Form 4 shows Chief Executive Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares on Feb. 2, splitting the sale over a handful of trades. According to the filing, the shares were sold via a Rule 10b5-1 plan, which sets up trades in advance.
Some investors are leaning on capital returns for support. Western Digital on Tuesday said its board cleared an additional $4 billion for stock buybacks, setting the stage for the company to purchase more of its own shares from the market. “The expanded $4.0 billion buyback authorization demonstrates our confidence in WD’s future,” Tan said in a statement. Western Digital
Western Digital rolled out its buyback plan while tying customer demand to infrastructure spending fueled by AI. Earlier this week, Reuters reported a worldwide memory chip shortage that’s been tightening supply and driving up prices. For its part, Western Digital pointed to strong sales of both hard drives and flash storage destined for AI servers—a key line in its growth outlook.
Western Digital, speaking at a recent investor event, outlined its plans for next-gen, higher-capacity drives—suggesting the company is targeting much bigger hard drives by the end of the decade, Tom’s Hardware reports.
The stock clawed back some ground Friday, but it’s still well off its earlier highs. According to traders, the direction from here depends on how quickly buybacks show up in trading and whether the sector can hold up into next week.
Buybacks could pause or drop off entirely, and momentum traders don’t love seeing a wave of insider sale headlines—even when those sales are scheduled in advance. A slip in data-center spending would add to the tension, threatening the hot “AI infrastructure” theme that’s been behind much of storage’s run.
All eyes are on the company’s earnings report, set for April 29, as investors zero in on any details about demand and margins. That’s according to Public Investing’s calendar.
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