Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Cut to $85.00 by Analysts at Wells Fargo & Company

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price reduced by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WDC. Barclays lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.15.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.6 %

Western Digital stock opened at $64.25 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.79 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 fifty-two week low of $51.75 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $66.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. Analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.26 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at approximately $42,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

About Western Digital

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.