Western Digital (WDC) closed at $245.25 in the latest trading session, marking a -5.32% move from the prior day. This change lagged the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.33%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a loss of 0.95%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq decreased by 1.59%.
The maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers's stock has dropped by 0.45% in the past month, falling short of the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 0.42% and the S&P 500's gain of 0.58%.
Market participants will be closely following the financial results of Western Digital in its upcoming release. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $2.34, indicating a 72.06% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $3.23 billion, up 40.72% from the year-ago period.
For the annual period, the Zacks Consensus Estimates anticipate earnings of $8.96 per share and a revenue of $12.43 billion, signifying shifts of +81.74% and -6.38%, respectively, from the last year.
It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Digital. These recent revisions tend to reflect the evolving nature of short-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the business outlook.
Our research demonstrates that these adjustments in estimates directly associate with imminent stock price performance. To utilize this, we have created the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model that integrates these estimate changes and provides a functional rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Western Digital is currently a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).
With respect to valuation, Western Digital is currently being traded at a Forward P/E ratio of 28.93. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry average Forward P/E of 17.73.
We can additionally observe that WDC currently boasts a PEG ratio of 0.57. The PEG ratio bears resemblance to the frequently used P/E ratio, but this parameter also includes the company's expected earnings growth trajectory. The Computer- Storage Devices industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 1.41 as of yesterday's close.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 23, putting it in the top 10% of all 250+ industries.
The strength of our individual industry groups is measured by the Zacks Industry Rank, which is calculated based on the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within these groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
Be sure to follow all of these stock-moving metrics, and many more, on Zacks.com.
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Western Digital Corporation (WDC): Free Stock Analysis ReportThis article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).
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