Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Up 3.2%

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) was up 3.2% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $76.89 and last traded at $75.91. Approximately 2,236,426 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 67% from the average daily volume of 6,816,889 shares. The stock had previously closed at $73.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WDC has been the topic of several recent research reports. Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, April 29th. Susquehanna increased their price target 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. Finally, Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.32.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm has a 50-day moving average of $70.09 and a two-hundred day moving average of $59.04. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $24.43 billion, a PE ratio of -15.05 and a beta of 1.53.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.57) earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post -1.68 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total value of $29,902.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,473.48. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 3,507 shares of company stock valued at $248,355. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 103,750 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,433,000 after buying an additional 24,100 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,028,114 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $138,173,000 after buying an additional 66,680 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $884,000. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Atria Wealth Solutions Inc. now owns 14,113 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $739,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares during the period. Finally, CoreCap Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $1,415,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.