Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.42 EPS

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

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.11 on Thursday, hitting $69.44. 8,154,794 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,002,463. 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 has a 50-day moving average price of $64.46 and a 200-day moving average price of $54.68. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $32.01 and a 1 year high of $76.92.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly 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 SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, 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 value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.72.

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.