Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Stock Price Down 16.3% – Here’s Why

Seagate Technology Holdings PLC (NASDAQ:STX) dropped 16.3% during trading on Thursday. The company traded as low as $461.11 and last traded at $466.53. Approximately 9,573,104 shares traded hands during trading, an increase of 112% from the average session volume of 4,511,013 shares. The stock had previously closed at $557.06.

Key Stories Impacting Seagate Technology

Here are the key news stories impacting Seagate Technology this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Recent fiscal first-quarter results beat estimates, with revenue of $4.23 billion and EPS of $7.72. Seagate also guided to about $4.8 billion in fiscal second-quarter revenue, supporting the growth case. Earnings Beat Might Change The Case For Seagate Stock
• Positive Sentiment: Growth-focused commentary argues Seagate has attributes that could support above-market performance, adding to the bullish earnings narrative. The articles do not specify additional catalysts. 3 Reasons Growth Investors Will Love Seagate
• Negative Sentiment: A report attributed a sharp decline in Seagate shares to insider selling, which can raise concerns about insiders’ confidence, even though selling alone does not establish their outlook. Seagate Technology Stock Falls on Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: Seagate and other AI-linked stocks faced pressure amid a wider AI-trade selloff and calls from a lawmaker to pause advanced AI development. That uncertainty may temper enthusiasm around data-storage demand tied to AI investment. Seagate Sinks as Lawmaker Urges a Pause on Advanced AI Development

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on STX shares. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $1,000.00 target price on shares of Seagate Technology in a research report on Wednesday, October 28th. Wall Street Zen raised Seagate Technology from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, September 26th. Bank of America upped their price target on Seagate Technology from $1,150.00 to $1,200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group restated a “buy” rating on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Monday, November 2nd. Finally, Argus raised their price objective on Seagate Technology from $750.00 to $900.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Twenty-three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $1,000.88.

Seagate Technology Stock Down 1.2%

The stock has a market capitalization of $105.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.21 and a beta of 2.16. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $769.59 and a 200 day moving average of $693.82. The company has a current ratio of 1.82, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 27th. The data storage provider reported $7.68 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $7.44 by $0.24. Seagate Technology had a net margin of 31.86% and a return on equity of 252.47%. The company had revenue of $4.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.15 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $2.61 earnings per share. Seagate Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 61.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Seagate Technology Holdings PLC will post 37.96 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 7th. Investors of record on Wednesday, December 23rd will be paid a dividend of $0.76 per share. This is a positive change from Seagate Technology’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.74. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, December 23rd. This represents a $3.04 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Seagate Technology’s payout ratio is presently 15.55%.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP John Morris sold 15,466 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $772.15, for a total transaction of $11,942,071.90. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 31,132 shares in the company, valued at $24,038,573.80. This trade represents a 33.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Also, CEO William Mosley sold 97,889 shares of Seagate Technology stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $772.14, for a total value of $75,584,012.46. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 378,108 shares in the company, valued at approximately $291,952,311.12. The trade was a 20.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 447,108 shares of company stock worth $356,049,743. 0.51% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Signature Equity Partners LLC grew its holdings in Seagate Technology by 383.3% during the 3rd quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 29 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 23 shares in the last quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC raised its stake in shares of Seagate Technology by 70.6% in the 2nd quarter. Retirement Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 29 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 12 shares in the last quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 23.1% during the first quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 80 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 15 shares during the last quarter. WealthCollab LLC lifted its position in shares of Seagate Technology by 27.4% during the first quarter. WealthCollab LLC now owns 93 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 20 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Catalyst Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Seagate Technology during the first quarter worth about $39,000. Institutional investors own 92.87% of the company’s stock.

Seagate Technology Company Profile

Seagate Technology develops and supplies data-storage products and solutions for businesses and consumers. Its portfolio includes hard disk drives (HDDs), solid-state drives, and storage systems designed for applications ranging from personal computing to large-scale data centers.

The company’s products support cloud and enterprise storage, network-attached storage, video surveillance, gaming, and other uses that require digital data to be stored and accessed. Seagate also offers data-management and storage services through its Lyve platform.

Founded in 1979, Seagate has a long history in the hard disk drive industry.