Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Now Covered by StockNews.com

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a report released on Wednesday. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on WDC. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Wells Fargo & Company restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, April 11th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Finally, Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.68.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.9 %

WDC stock opened at $35.62 on Wednesday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $59.30. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.48 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related 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 value 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,166,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Western Digital by 13.0% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 14,998 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $606,000 after acquiring an additional 1,729 shares during the last quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 18.4% in the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 3,918 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $160,000 after purchasing an additional 609 shares during the period. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $371,000. Finally, Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $4,864,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.