Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given “Outperform” Rating at Wedbush

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating restated by stock analysts at Wedbush in a note issued to investors on Thursday,RTT News reports. They currently have a $95.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock. Wedbush’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 47.85% from the company’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on WDC. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.11.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.45 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $64.25. 4,383,616 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,000,446. Western Digital has a one year low of $52.77 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.70 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $65.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.21 billion, a PE ratio of 38.14 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Western Digital by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $200,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% during the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 22.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Investing LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $258,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.