Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 12-Month Low – Time to Sell?

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)’s stock price reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $28.83 and last traded at $28.87, with a volume of 656247 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.54.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, January 29th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna dropped their target price on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $10.56 billion, a PE ratio of 7.28 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $52.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $61.46.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% during the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. raised its stake in Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $704,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas lifted its position in Western Digital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Quarry LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $64,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.