Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Increased to $80.00 by Analysts at Barclays

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective raised by Barclays from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research note released on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the topic of several other reports. StockNews.com downgraded Western Digital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Cantor Fitzgerald boosted their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an outperform rating and a $80.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $73.72.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $67.05 on Monday. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $76.92. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $63.90 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.40. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a PE ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.69) EPS. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. CWM LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 13.7% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 8,186 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $374,000 after buying an additional 987 shares in the last quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 20.8% during the 3rd quarter. Avior Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,319 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $106,000 after buying an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in Western Digital by 47.6% during the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,918 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,552,000 after buying an additional 18,044 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Western Digital by 5.3% during the 3rd quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 137,097 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $6,256,000 after buying an additional 6,848 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $228,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.