Western Digital’s (WDC) Outperform Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by equities researchers at Wedbush in a report issued on Friday,RTT News reports. They presently have a $95.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Wedbush’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 29.71% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the company. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.74 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $73.24. 1,620,491 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,068,025. 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 12 month low of $46.47 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 43.08 and a beta of 1.40. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $66.98 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.97) EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 185,963 shares of company stock worth $13,154,039. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.