Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Earns Buy Rating from Benchmark

Benchmark reiterated their buy rating on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report report published on Thursday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $92.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup reduced their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an overweight rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Loop Capital increased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, June 4th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a neutral rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $84.24.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $69.42 on Thursday. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $35.62 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $22.67 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business’s 50 day moving average is $64.09 and its 200-day moving average is $69.65.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.