Avala Global LP Has $78.38 Million Holdings in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Avala Global LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 49.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 377,500 shares during the quarter. Western Digital makes up approximately 5.2% of Avala Global LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 4th largest holding. Avala Global LP’s holdings in Western Digital were worth $78,376,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Maverick Capital Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $5,395,000. Edgestream Partners L.P. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 767.3% in the 3rd quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. now owns 74,292 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $5,073,000 after acquiring an additional 65,726 shares in the last quarter. Circle Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $734,000. Finally, Captrust Financial Advisors boosted its position in Western Digital by 21.8% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 11,177 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $763,000 after purchasing an additional 1,998 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 185,963 shares of company stock valued at $13,154,039. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $72.99 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $25.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital Co. has a twelve month low of $46.47 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $67.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.09.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.97) EPS. As a group, research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WDC shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna raised their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

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.