Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Issues Quarterly Earnings Results

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42, Briefing.com reports. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted ($1.57) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Western Digital updated its Q4 guidance to $0.90-1.20 EPS.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock traded down $0.11 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $69.44. 8,149,854 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,006,783. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $32.01 and a 12-month high of $76.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $64.46 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.72.

About Western Digital

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.