GAMMA Investing LLC Makes New $85,000 Investment in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 1,490 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $85,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Nomura Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 13,361,999 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $609,708,000 after acquiring an additional 870,971 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 29.3% in the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 2,486,333 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $113,451,000 after acquiring an additional 563,232 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 8.6% in the 4th quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 5,587,698 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $292,628,000 after acquiring an additional 443,903 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 92.0% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 704,883 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,164,000 after acquiring an additional 337,757 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sandler Capital Management acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $13,680,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $69.86 on Tuesday. Western Digital Co. has a 12-month low of $32.01 and a 12-month high of $76.92. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.39 and its 200-day moving average is $55.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($1.57) earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital Co. will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other 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 owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Western Digital news, 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WDC shares. Robert W. Baird lifted their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a research report on Friday. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $77.76.

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.