Western Digital (WDC) Scheduled to Post Earnings on Thursday

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) is set to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect Western Digital to post earnings of $0.18 per share for the quarter. Parties interested in registering for the company’s conference call can do so using this link.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The company’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($0.69) EPS. On average, analysts expect Western Digital to post $-2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.3 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $70.17 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.57. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.67. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $76.92.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, 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 available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. GSA Capital Partners LLP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $771,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.4% during the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 135,853 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $7,115,000 after buying an additional 5,678 shares in the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 30.3% in the 4th quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 9,593 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $502,000 after buying an additional 2,232 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $529,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 13.8% during the fourth quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 3,023,043 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $158,317,000 after acquiring an additional 365,709 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently weighed in on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $52.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.61.

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.