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

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 21,740,000 shares, a growth of 20.1% from the November 15th total of 18,100,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,990,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 4.4 days.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $65.12 on Friday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $48.96 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $67.67 and its 200-day moving average is $68.80. The firm has a market cap of $22.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.31 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted ($1.97) EPS. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WDC shares. Citigroup decreased their target price on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.