Western Digital (WDC) to Release Earnings on Thursday

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Western Digital to post earnings of $0.21 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in registering for the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.69) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Western Digital to post $-2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $67.05 on Tuesday. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $76.92. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $63.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $54.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. UBS Group increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, April 15th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price objective on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.72.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Western Digital

Western Digital Corporation develops, manufactures, and sells data storage devices and solutions in the United States, China, Hong Kong, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, rest of Asia, and internationally. It offers client devices, including hard disk drives (HDDs) and solid state drives (SSDs) for desktop and notebook personal computers (PCs), gaming consoles, and set top boxes; and flash-based embedded storage products for mobile phones, tablets, notebook PCs, and other portable and wearable devices, as well as automotive, Internet of Things, industrial, and connected home applications.