Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued on Monday.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the company. Bank of America cut their price objective on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $60.45 to $64.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 25th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company dropped their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, February 25th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $80.21.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.65 on Monday, reaching $44.31. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,619,605 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,959,246. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $57.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $62.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $39.42 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $15.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.55 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its position in 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 during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.