Evercore ISI Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $85.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target lifted by Evercore ISI from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Benchmark raised Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $85.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Friday. Raymond James lowered Western Digital from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Mizuho upped their price target on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Western Digital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 20th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $77.76.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $69.86 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.26. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $32.01 and a 52-week high of $76.92. The firm has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.06 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a quick ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 1.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The business’s revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.57) EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mn Services Vermogensbeheer B.V. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $8,946,000. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.7% during the first quarter. Zweig DiMenna Associates LLC now owns 167,861 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $11,455,000 after purchasing an additional 1,111 shares during the last quarter. Highview Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $701,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $267,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 37.3% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 843 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.