Ardmore Road Asset Management LP Purchases New Stake in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Ardmore Road Asset Management LP acquired a new position in Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund acquired 150,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock, valued at approximately $8,944,000. Western Digital makes up 1.3% of Ardmore Road Asset Management LP’s holdings, making the stock its 29th biggest holding.

Other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, S.A. Mason LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth about $45,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. StockNews.com downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, March 24th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, March 17th. Finally, Mizuho reduced their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $80.21.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.1 %

WDC opened at $40.89 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $14.22 billion, a PE ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.42. The business has a 50-day moving average of $54.67 and a 200-day moving average of $62.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. Western Digital Co. has a fifty-two week low of $39.10 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.30% 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.