StockNews.com Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) to Sell

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was downgraded by StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

WDC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Argus raised their price target on Western Digital from $68.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, April 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and nineteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.09.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $75.77 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $24.74 billion, a PE ratio of -15.25 and a beta of 1.45. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.26 and its 200 day simple moving average is $64.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $35.62 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.57) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Western Digital will post -1.45 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 26,853 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.48, for a total value of $1,973,158.44. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 144,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,626,898.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 30,579 shares of company stock valued at $2,238,595 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 37.3% in 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 during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its holdings in Western Digital by 10.9% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the period. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Western Digital by 0.5% in the first quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,050 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,893,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares in the last quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 4,401 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $300,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.9% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,156 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.