Western Digital (WDC) closed at $58.57 in the latest trading session, marking a +2.02% move from the prior day. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.84% loss on the day. At the same time, the Dow lost 0.7%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 0.91%.
The stock of maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers has risen by 14.84% in the past month, leading the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 0% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.44%.
The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Western Digital in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is predicted to post an EPS of $1.47, indicating a 2.08% growth compared to the equivalent quarter last year. At the same time, our most recent consensus estimate is projecting a revenue of $2.45 billion, reflecting a 34.79% fall from the equivalent quarter last year.
For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $4.73 per share and a revenue of $9.37 billion, representing changes of +2465% and -27.95%, respectively, from the prior year.
Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Western Digital. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the business and profitability.
Our research suggests that these changes in estimates have a direct relationship with upcoming stock price performance. To benefit from this, we have developed the Zacks Rank, a proprietary model which takes these estimate changes into account and provides an actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, spanning from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), boasts an impressive track record of outperformance, audited externally, with #1 ranked stocks yielding an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.18% higher. Western Digital is holding a Zacks Rank of #1 (Strong Buy) right now.
Looking at its valuation, Western Digital is holding a Forward P/E ratio of 13.41. For comparison, its industry has an average Forward P/E of 16.7, which means Western Digital is trading at a discount to the group.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 37, which puts it in the top 16% of all 250+ industries.
The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.
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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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