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Western Digital (WDC) ended the recent trading session at $48.93, demonstrating a +1.51% swing from the preceding day's closing price. The stock trailed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.59%. On the other hand, the Dow registered a gain of 1.39%, and the technology-centric Nasdaq increased by 1.63%.
Prior to today's trading, shares of the maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers had lost 26.73% over the past month. This has lagged the Computer and Technology sector's loss of 3.43% and the S&P 500's loss of 2.42% in that time.
Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Western Digital in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.04, up 65.08% from the prior-year quarter. In the meantime, our current consensus estimate forecasts the revenue to be $3.85 billion, indicating a 11.39% growth compared to the corresponding quarter of the prior year.
In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $5.81 per share and a revenue of $16.28 billion, indicating changes of +3005% and +25.23%, respectively, from the former year.
Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Western Digital. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the company's business operations and its ability to generate profits.
Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.
The Zacks Rank system, which varies between #1 (Strong Buy) and #5 (Strong Sell), carries an impressive track record of exceeding expectations, confirmed by external audits, with stocks at #1 delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 8.98% lower. Right now, Western Digital possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).
In the context of valuation, Western Digital is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 8.3. This expresses a discount compared to the average Forward P/E of 16.13 of its industry.
The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 57, putting it in the top 23% of all 250+ industries.