Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Gap Down to $72.01

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $72.01, but opened at $68.48. Western Digital shares last traded at $67.71, with a volume of 423,173 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 12th. StockNews.com raised Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Argus boosted their target price on Western Digital from $68.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.96.

Western Digital Price Performance

The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $76.01 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $67.48. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.35 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.58 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.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.57) EPS. The company’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post -1.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly 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 available through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total transaction of $1,973,158.44. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 144,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $10,626,898.04. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total value of $29,902.08. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,321 shares in the company, valued at $2,179,473.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 27,488 shares of company stock valued at $2,020,143. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.