Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target cut by Mizuho from $90.00 to $82.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Mizuho’s price objective points to a potential upside of 27.99% from the company’s previous close.

WDC has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a report on Thursday, December 19th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.95.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $64.07 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $48.96 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company’s 50-day moving average is $66.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $67.20.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. This represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of 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. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third 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 period. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by 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.