Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 12-Month High at $81.15

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $81.15 and last traded at $80.63, with a volume of 396522 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $79.86.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently commented on WDC. Susquehanna boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $88.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $100.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, June 11th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nineteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.09.

Western Digital Price Performance

The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $73.46 and its 200 day moving average price is $63.01. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. Western Digital’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.57) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post -1.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,973,158.44. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 144,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,626,898.04. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 30,579 shares of company stock worth $2,238,595 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $212,900,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $150,958,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its stake in Western Digital by 1,089.7% during the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $73,126,000 after buying an additional 981,527 shares in the last quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $48,466,000. Finally, Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 7.0% during the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 13,361,999 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $609,708,000 after buying an additional 870,971 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.