Brokerages Set Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target at $80.21

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fourteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $80.21.

WDC has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Finally, Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a report on Thursday, December 19th.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.5 %

Western Digital stock opened at $44.31 on Tuesday. Western Digital has a one year low of $39.42 and a one year high of $81.55. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $57.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The company has a market capitalization of $15.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.55 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the 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 sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted 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 in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. 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.