Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) shares reached a new 52-week low during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as low as $50.73 and last traded at $50.21, with a volume of 639408 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $68.71.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WDC has been the subject of a number of research reports. Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating on the stock. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.05.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.1 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.68 and a beta of 1.44. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $64.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $65.51.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $200,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $144,000 after buying an additional 159 shares during the period. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after buying an additional 166 shares during the period. Finally, Quarry LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 22.6% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the period. 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.