Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) was the recipient of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 29,570,000 shares, a growth of 22.2% from the January 31st total of 24,190,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 6,480,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.6 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WDC has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. UBS Group increased their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.05.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Trading Down 3.0 %

NASDAQ WDC traded down $1.35 on Wednesday, hitting $43.28. 1,813,383 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 9,091,539. 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 has a twelve month low of $39.58 and a twelve month high of $61.16. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.44. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $62.79 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.01.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.