The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $70.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price lowered by The Goldman Sachs Group from $81.00 to $70.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.86.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $62.82 on Friday. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $65.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.91. The firm has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. Western Digital has a one year low of $49.68 and a one year high of $81.55.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were 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 directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 14.5% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,652 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $993,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.8% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 27,666 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $385,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.7% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings 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. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.