Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Down 3.5% – What’s Next?

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) was down 3.5% on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $42.84 and last traded at $42.77. Approximately 568,404 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 5,959,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.31.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently issued reports on WDC. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Stock Down 3.0 %

The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $62.98. The stock has a market cap of $14.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.22 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,691,000 after purchasing an additional 11,013 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 6.3% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $50,191,000 after acquiring an additional 50,188 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $23,305,000 after acquiring an additional 15,189 shares during the period. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after buying an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% during the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,930,000 after acquiring an additional 34,579 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.