Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 1-Year Low on Insider Selling

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $39.42 and last traded at $39.82, with a volume of 1904047 shares. The stock had previously closed at $41.70.

Specifically, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have weighed in on WDC. UBS Group lifted their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Bank of America cut their price target on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $81.47.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.8 %

The business has a 50-day moving average of $61.27 and a 200-day moving average of $64.37. The firm has a market cap of $14.10 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 9.65 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts anticipate that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its position in Western Digital by 32.3% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares during the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% in the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% in the fourth quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.