Western Digital (WDC) closed the latest trading day at $68.63, indicating a +1.78% change from the previous session's end. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.61% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.3%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 1.28%.

Shares of the maker of hard drives for businesses and personal computers have appreciated by 9.29% over the course of the past month, outperforming the Computer and Technology sector's gain of 1.24% and the S&P 500's gain of 2.08%.

The investment community will be closely monitoring the performance of Western Digital in its forthcoming earnings report. The company is scheduled to release its earnings on January 29, 2025. The company's upcoming EPS is projected at $1.75, signifying a 353.62% increase compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Simultaneously, our latest consensus estimate expects the revenue to be $4.28 billion, showing a 41.06% escalation compared to the year-ago quarter.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $6.33 per share and a revenue of $16.39 billion, indicating changes of +3265% and +26.02%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also pay attention to any latest changes in analyst estimates for Western Digital. These revisions typically reflect the latest short-term business trends, which can change frequently. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. To exploit this, we've formed the Zacks Rank, a quantitative model that includes these estimate changes and presents a viable 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. Over the last 30 days, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has witnessed a 13.78% decrease. Western Digital is holding a Zacks Rank of #4 (Sell) right now.

From a valuation perspective, Western Digital is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 10.65. This valuation marks a discount compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 13.43.

The Computer- Storage Devices industry is part of the Computer and Technology sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 95, putting it in the top 38% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank is ordered from best to worst in terms of the average Zacks Rank of the individual companies within each of these sectors. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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