Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Cut to Sell at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on WDC. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Argus increased their target price on Western Digital from $68.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Bank of America lifted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $82.09.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $76.38 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $24.94 billion, a PE ratio of -15.37 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $74.45 and a 200-day moving average of $64.67. Western Digital has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.57) earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post -1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total transaction of $29,902.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,179,473.48. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,973,158.44. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 144,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,626,898.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total transaction of $29,902.08. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 27,931 shares of company stock worth $2,053,368. Corporate insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $31,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $36,000. 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.