Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives $86.33 Average Price Target from Analysts

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $85.95.

Several analysts recently issued reports on WDC shares. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total value of $139,390.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. This represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in Western Digital by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 27,666 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,669,000 after buying an additional 1,025 shares during the last quarter. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $385,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $423,000 after acquiring an additional 509 shares during the period. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position in Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Finally, B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 9.3% during the 3rd quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 3,745 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 319 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $65.65 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $66.11 and a 200-day simple moving average of $67.03. The stock has a market cap of $22.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.62 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $48.96 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted ($1.97) earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.