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

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) shares reached a new 52-week low on Monday . The stock traded as low as $50.73 and last traded at $50.21, with a volume of 639408 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently issued reports on WDC. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.42.

Western Digital Trading Down 28.2 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $64.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $65.66. The company has a market capitalization of $17.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, 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 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 3.5% in the fourth 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in Western Digital by 3.2% during 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 purchasing an additional 423,651 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 823,656 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $352,572,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings 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 in the last quarter. 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.