Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Reaches New 1-Year Low – Here’s Why

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) hit a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $50.73 and last traded at $50.21, with a volume of 639408 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WDC. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Susquehanna cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Western Digital Stock Performance

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.16 billion, a PE ratio of 11.72 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.78 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.66.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its 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%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp raised its position in Western Digital by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after purchasing an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 10.4% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $520,450,000 after purchasing an additional 823,656 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.