UBS Group Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $70.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective cut by UBS Group from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Benchmark cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Mizuho lowered their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.68.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $65.78 on Thursday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $65.62. The firm has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.66 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 (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Public Sector Pension Investment Board lifted its stake in Western Digital by 76.0% during the second quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 12,610 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $955,000 after purchasing an additional 5,445 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 276.2% in the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 83,255 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $6,308,000 after buying an additional 61,127 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its position in Western Digital by 21.0% during the second quarter. Creative Planning now owns 40,573 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,074,000 after acquiring an additional 7,037 shares during the last quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 10.5% during the second quarter. Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. now owns 3,265 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $247,000 after acquiring an additional 310 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quarry LP raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 154.2% during the second quarter. Quarry LP now owns 760 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is 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.