Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – What’s Next?

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have recently commented on WDC. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America cut their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target 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. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.9 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.41. The stock has a market cap of $13.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.38 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted 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%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.