Western Digital (WDC) Set to Announce Earnings on Thursday

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) will issue its quarterly earnings data after the market closes on Thursday, April 25th. Analysts expect the company to announce earnings of $0.18 per share for the quarter. Investors interested in listening to the company's conference call can do so using this link.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.69) earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect Western Digital to post $-2 EPS for the current fiscal year and $7 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.6 %

NASDAQ WDC traded down $1.85 on Thursday, reaching $68.32. The stock had a trading volume of 4,346,720 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,978,912. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $63.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $53.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $31.97 and a 1 year high of $76.92. The company has a market capitalization of $22.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.68 and a beta of 1.57.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was 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 owns 30,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company'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 value 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 owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Western Digital by 93.1% in the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 20,663,972 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $651,948,000 after acquiring an additional 9,961,971 shares in the last quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 242.7% in the 1st quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 10,606,474 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $399,546,000 after purchasing an additional 7,511,896 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $89,074,000. Voya Investment Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,332.0% in the 4th quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 1,554,153 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $81,391,000 after purchasing an additional 1,445,625 shares during the period. Finally, Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 445.6% in the 1st quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,451,033 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $72,044,000 after purchasing an additional 1,185,100 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have commented on WDC shares. Barclays boosted their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James boosted their price target on Western Digital from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Mizuho boosted their price target on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.17.

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.