Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Updates Q4 2024 Earnings Guidance

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) updated its fourth quarter 2024 earnings guidance on Thursday. The company provided earnings per share guidance of 0.900-1.200 for the period, compared to the consensus earnings per share estimate of 0.840. The company issued revenue guidance of $3.6 billion-$3.8 billion, compared to the consensus revenue estimate of $3.7 billion. Western Digital also updated its Q4 guidance to $0.90-1.20 EPS.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Western Digital from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, April 18th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and boosted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $73.72.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded down $0.11 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $69.44. 8,595,812 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,011,973. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $54.68. 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.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. Western Digital’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.57) EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction 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 available through this link. 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 transaction of $185,227.60. Following 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. 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.