HighVista Strategies LLC Acquires 3,800 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

HighVista Strategies LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 19.2% in the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 23,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares during the quarter. HighVista Strategies LLC’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $1,788,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 1.3% during the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after acquiring an additional 203 shares during the period. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV grew its holdings in Western Digital by 15.6% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $116,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in Western Digital by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 843 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Mizuho upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Citigroup reduced their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, Evercore ISI reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.24.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 17,955 shares of company stock worth $1,053,560 over the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WDC opened at $66.75 on Monday. Western Digital Co. has a 52-week low of $35.62 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.68 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.53. The company has a market capitalization of $21.80 billion, a PE ratio of -13.43 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

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.