Stock Traders Buy High Volume of Western Digital Call Options (NASDAQ:WDC)

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) was the target of some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 30,871 call options on the company. This represents an increase of approximately 13% compared to the average volume of 27,329 call options.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.92 on Friday, reaching $71.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 13,864,848 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,097,184. The firm has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 1.57. 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 52 week low of $32.01 and a 52 week high of $76.92. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.96.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted ($1.57) EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WDC shares. Mizuho increased their price objective on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. UBS Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.25.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% in the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.