Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Trading Up 6% - Should You Buy?

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) shares traded up 6% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $68.05 and last traded at $68.36. 1,621,025 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 74% from the average session volume of 6,190,959 shares. The stock had previously closed at $64.46.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group upped their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.4 %

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 has a 50 day moving average of $64.60 and a 200-day moving average of $65.20. The company has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. CWM LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 63.0% in the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 15,464 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,056,000 after purchasing an additional 5,974 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 20.4% in the 3rd quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,147 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $283,000 after purchasing an additional 704 shares during the period. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 4,487.8% in the 3rd quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 3,395 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $232,000 after purchasing an additional 3,321 shares during the period. Creative Planning raised its holdings in Western Digital by 4.5% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 42,408 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,896,000 after purchasing an additional 1,835 shares during the period. Finally, Swedbank AB raised its holdings in Western Digital by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 47,965 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.