Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 10.3% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $33.99 and last traded at $34.36. Approximately 1,073,680 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 6,182,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $31.16.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Bank of America dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $77.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Western Digital
Western Digital Stock Performance
The firm has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $48.44 and its 200 day simple moving average is $59.94.
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 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, equities research analysts expect 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $4,864,000. Czech National Bank lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,889 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,230,000 after acquiring an additional 4,932 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.3% during the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 674,874 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $27,285,000 after purchasing an additional 46,202 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 3,470.0% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 253,294 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $10,241,000 after purchasing an additional 246,199 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Western Digital by 879.4% in the first quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,045 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,632 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Western Digital
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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