Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Down 3.5% - What's Next?

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price dropped 3.5% during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as low as $42.84 and last traded at $42.77. Approximately 568,404 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 5,959,106 shares. The stock had previously closed at $44.31.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $80.21.

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Western Digital Stock Down 3.1 %

The stock has a market cap of $14.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.67 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $55.69 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts predict 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 company's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Mather Group LLC. lifted 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 acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th 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 boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 22.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.