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Western Digital (WDC) Stock Declines While Market Improves: Some Information for Investors

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Western Digital (WDC - Free Report) closed at $355.46 in the latest trading session, marking a -2.37% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's 0.33% gain on the day. At the same time, the Dow added 1.08%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq gained 0.08%.

Heading into today, shares of the maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers had lost 12.68% over the past month, lagging the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.62% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.41%.

The upcoming earnings release of Western Digital will be of great interest to investors. The company's earnings report is expected on October 22, 2026. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $4.07, marking a 128.65% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $4.16 billion, indicating a 47.45% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.

For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $20.03 per share and a revenue of $18.78 billion, signifying shifts of +95.99% and +45.39%, respectively, from the last year.

It's also important for investors to be aware of any recent modifications to analyst estimates for Western Digital. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. With this in mind, we can consider positive estimate revisions a sign of optimism about the business outlook.

Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate remained stagnant. As of now, Western Digital holds a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Western Digital is presently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 18.17. This indicates a premium in contrast to its industry's Forward P/E of 11.04.

One should further note that WDC currently holds a PEG ratio of 1.51. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. WDC's industry had an average PEG ratio of 1.47 as of yesterday's close.

The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 26, putting it in the top 11% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Don't forget to use Zacks.com to keep track of all these stock-moving metrics, and others, in the upcoming trading sessions.

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