Western Digital Target of Unusually High Options Trading (NASDAQ:WDC)

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDCGet Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Stock traders purchased 24,530 call options on the company. This represents an increase of 21% compared to the average daily volume of 20,222 call options.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $68.63 on Thursday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.57 and its 200-day simple moving average is $66.09. The company has a market capitalization of $23.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.37 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDCGet Free Report) last released 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 company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders sold 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. KBC Group NV boosted its position in Western Digital by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 280,116 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $16,703,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Western Digital by 78.5% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 1,460 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $87,000 after acquiring an additional 642 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 13,269 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $791,000 after purchasing an additional 917 shares in the last quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 75,874 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,524,000 after buying an additional 8,856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.65.

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Western Digital Company Profile

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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.

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