WDC — the engine's Play of the Day, fully scored
On Tuesday, September 22, 2026, WDC scored in the 99th percentile of Wall Street Analyst's 15-dimension scoring engine with a STRONG BUY signal, at $448.15 at publication, on a suggested horizon of 1–3 months. The full breakdown below is the engine's actual evidence, published the day of the call and graded in public afterward.
This grade was written by the market, not by us: the Play was timestamped at publication and scored automatically against its entry price. Winners and losers both stay up — the full record lives on the track record.
WDC lands in the 99th percentile on the strength of an elite fundamental profile — a 92.9 fundamental score anchored by 73% net margins, 117.8% ROE, 200% growth, and a PEG of 0.48, paired with a 93.8 earnings-quality reading built on eight straight beats averaging +14% surprise. Smart-money and options dimensions reinforce the setup: unusual call activity, bullish sweeps, and 13F holdings from Berkshire, Bridgewater, and Renaissance. Analyst upside adds a +46% implied gap to the $648 target.
This is a fundamentals-led quality setup on a 1-3 month horizon, with the name sitting near $448 after a sharp pullback from June highs and earnings still 36 days out. Give the thesis time to be recognized rather than chasing near-term price action.
Momentum is already weak at 19.5 with a -33.2% three-month move and the name lagging XLK by 40% over that stretch, so continued sector rotation out of the name would undercut the case. High beta (2.29), 80% volatility, and a conflicting insider-depth signal — 21 C-suite sells and no buys in the 90-day Form 4 window — mean a downside break below recent support or a soft October 29 print would invalidate it.
The full case — all 15 dimensions
Every dimension the engine scored that day, with the actual evidence behind each number — including the ones that argue against the play. The twelve weighted dimensions come first; anything marked a supporting input is scored and shown, but reaches the composite through a capped confirmation bonus rather than a weighted share.
- Strong beat streak (8 consecutive quarters)
- Positive revision momentum (+1.00)
- Large average earnings surprise (+14.0%)
- Stable positive EPS estimates
- PEG undervalued (0.48)
- Strong growth (200%)
- Excellent margins (73.0%)
- Strong ROE (117.8%)
- Analyst target $648 vs $442.61 at scoring time (+46% implied)
- Wide target dispersion (low conviction)
- Quant Grade: A- (81/100)
- Value: D+
- Growth: A
- Profitability: A+
- Momentum: B
- Eps Revisions: A+
- Revenue +36% (explosive)
- Earnings +364%
- High net margin 73%
- Unusual CALL activity (29 flags)
- Bullish sweep activity (9 call sweeps)
- Insider buying activity (38 buys)
- Held by Berkshire Hathaway (Buffett), Bridgewater Associates (Dalio), Renaissance Technologies (Simons)
- High insider filing activity (20 Form 4s in 30d)
- Reddit mentions via ApeWisdom: 4 in 24h (vs 1 the day before; per-post sentiment n/a)
- StockTwits bullish (bull/bear ratio: 11.0)
- Moderate social media volume (34 total messages)
- Ticker is trending on StockTwits
- Partial coverage: scored on 50% of social sources (confidence scaled accordingly)
- Strong positive news sentiment (0.18)
- Strong analyst buy consensus (77%)
- MACD bullish crossover
- Price above key moving averages
- Heavy selling volume (1.6x avg)
- 8Q consecutive earnings beats (avg 14.0% surprise)
- Insider cluster BUY (cluster feed, 7d window): 65 insiders, $1,791,984,046
- Sector laggard vs XLK (-7.7% 1mo, -40.0% 3mo)
- Excellent Sharpe ratio (2.15)
- High volatility (80%)
- Large max drawdown (-45%)
- High beta (2.29)
- Weak 3-month momentum (-33.2%)
- 8 consecutive earnings beats
- avg surprise +14.0%
- EPS trending up
- Whale 13F increase by Unknown fund (+10)
- Scope: OpenInsider Form 4 filings, last 90 days. Starts from a neutral 50 baseline; drivers below adjust it
- 20 distinct insiders selling (-20 pts)
- 21 C-suite sell(s) (-20 pts)
- Only insider sales, no buys (-10 pts)
A brief like this is generated from the engine's output every trading day. Today's Play is free — get it on the Play of the Day page or read how the 15 dimensions work.
The Play of the Day is the output of a quantitative scoring model, published for educational and informational purposes — it is not personalized investment advice, and Wall Street Analyst is not a registered investment advisor. Markets carry risk; past results don't guarantee future ones. Every decision is yours.