Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $85.95.

A number of analysts recently commented on WDC shares. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Mizuho cut their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $64.06 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $65.98 and a two-hundred day moving average of $66.93. The company has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.68 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $48.96 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results 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 firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. This represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’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 in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital during the second quarter worth $77,000. Rothschild Investment LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $38,000. Van ECK Associates Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $336,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 47.6% during the 2nd quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 69,676 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,279,000 after acquiring an additional 22,470 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.