Avala Global LP Buys 377,500 Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)

Avala Global LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) by 49.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 377,500 shares during the quarter. Western Digital makes up approximately 5.2% of Avala Global LP’s holdings, making the stock its 4th largest position. Avala Global LP owned approximately 0.33% of Western Digital worth $78,376,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $72.99 on Monday. Western Digital Co. has a one year low of $46.47 and a one year high of $81.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $67.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $69.09. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.23 billion, a PE ratio of 42.94 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($1.97) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 185,963 shares of company stock worth $13,154,039 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $87.71.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.