UBS Group Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $50.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective reduced by UBS Group from $74.00 to $50.00 in a research note released on Monday,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on WDC. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, February 26th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Bank of America lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.3 %

Shares of WDC opened at $44.90 on Monday. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The business’s fifty day moving average is $58.58 and its 200-day moving average is $63.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm has a market cap of $15.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 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.