Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Gap Up – Here’s What Happened

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) shares gapped up before the market opened on Thursday . The stock had previously closed at $62.80, but opened at $66.45. Western Digital shares last traded at $65.07, with a volume of 2,829,678 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of several research reports. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. BNP Paribas dropped their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut their price target 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. Finally, Barclays lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.05.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

The stock has a market cap of $22.73 billion, a PE ratio of 38.65 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $65.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $65.62.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 5.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rhumbline Advisers grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 628,672 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $37,488,000 after buying an additional 8,029 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 3.6% during the 4th quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 181,411 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $10,818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Western Digital by 3.9% during the 4th quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 137,360 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $8,338,000 after buying an additional 5,159 shares during the period. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in Western Digital by 89.2% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 8,883 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $530,000 after purchasing an additional 4,187 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.