Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Releases Q4 Earnings Guidance

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) issued an update on its fourth quarter earnings guidance on Thursday morning. The company provided earnings per share guidance of $0.90-1.20 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of $0.89. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.6-3.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.71 billion. Western Digital also updated its Q4 2024 guidance to 0.900-1.200 EPS.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded up $1.92 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $71.36. 13,869,066 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,070,411. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.98. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.08 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $54.96. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $32.01 and a 12-month high of $76.92.

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 the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.67% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.57) earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Wednesday, April 17th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. UBS Group lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were 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 directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed 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 that occurred on 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. Corporate insiders own 0.28% 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.