Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 3.5% – Time to Sell?

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Barclays decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. UBS Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. 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 report 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The business’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 PE 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 posted its earnings results 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS 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 business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 22.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.