Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Monday . The company traded as low as $39.10 and last traded at $39.60, with a volume of 256987 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $40.62.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WDC. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup increased their target price on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, March 24th. Wells Fargo & Company lowered their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.9 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $55.69 and a 200-day moving average of $62.41. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.72 billion, a PE ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. State Street Corp raised its holdings in Western Digital by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after acquiring an additional 423,651 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.4% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $520,450,000 after acquiring an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $352,572,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.