Traders Purchase Large Volume of Western Digital Call Options (NASDAQ:WDC)

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Investors purchased 33,201 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 30% compared to the average volume of 25,579 call options.

Western Digital Trading Up 5.1 %

NASDAQ:WDC traded up $3.56 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $72.99. 8,252,988 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,056,229. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $46.28 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.54 and a beta of 1.40. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.58 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.06.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned ($1.97) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total value of $139,390.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. The trade was a 6.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 185,620 shares of company stock worth $13,127,932 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased 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 during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price 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.