Samlyn Capital LLC Takes $26.47 Million Position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Samlyn Capital LLC bought a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm bought 349,307 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $26,467,000. Samlyn Capital LLC owned about 0.11% of Western Digital at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Benchmark raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.24.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $66.29 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Western Digital Co. has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $64.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.54. The stock has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.34 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 17,955 shares of company stock valued at $1,053,560 in the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

About Western Digital

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.