Traders Purchase Large Volume of Call Options on Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) was the target of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 33,201 call options on the company. This is an increase of 30% compared to the average volume of 25,579 call options.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $73.02 on Wednesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $66.58 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.06. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $46.28 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a PE ratio of 42.95 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted ($1.97) earnings per share. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. This represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 186,278 shares of company stock valued at $13,173,985. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Digital by 28.6% in the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the period. Aigen Investment Management LP raised its position in Western Digital by 124.2% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after acquiring an additional 11,860 shares in the last quarter. KBC Group NV boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.2% during the 3rd quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 277,010 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $18,917,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares in the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 25,262 shares during the period. Finally, Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $13,260,000. 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.