WDC Shares Jump 5.42% on $1.08B Volume as Institutional Buyers Fuel Optimism Stock Ranks 111th in Market Activity

Western Digital (WDC) surged 5.42% on September 22, 2025, with a trading volume of $1.08 billion, ranking 111th in market activity. Institutional investors have shown renewed confidence, with IFM Investors Pty Ltd increasing its stake by 5.9% to $4.04 million, while Alyeska Investment Group and Deutsche Bank each boosted holdings by over 100%, collectively adding $339.5 million in first-quarter purchases. Canada Pension Plan and Westfield Capital also entered the stock, signaling broader institutional interest.

Analyst sentiment remains bullish, with Wedbush upgrading its price target to $90 and Mizuho to $120, both maintaining "outperform" ratings. Wells Fargo and Susquehanna also raised targets, pushing the consensus price to $88.68. Despite insider sales by CFO Cynthia Tregillis (9.41% reduction) and CEO Irving Tan (1.43% reduction), institutional ownership remains at 92.51%, underscoring long-term institutional backing.

Recent earnings highlighted robust performance, with Q2 EPS of $1.66 (beating estimates) and revenue rising 30% year-over-year to $2.61 billion. The company reaffirmed Q1 2026 guidance of $1.54–$1.69 EPS, reflecting strong demand in data storage. A $0.10 quarterly dividend, yielding 0.4%, was also declared, with a payout ratio of 7.77%, indicating sustainable distributions.

To run this back-test robustly I need to pin down three practical points: 1. Universe • Which market should the “top-500” list be drawn from? • Is occasional un-tradability acceptable? 2. Trade price convention • Enter at next day’s open and exit at the same day’s close, or enter at today’s close and exit at tomorrow’s close? 3. Portfolio support • Build a synthetic equal-weighted portfolio or focus on a representative ETF?