Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) PT Lowered to $72.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target lowered by analysts at UBS Group from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. UBS Group’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.34% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently commented on WDC. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Summit Insights lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.95.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.2 %

Western Digital stock traded down $0.15 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $66.46. 4,054,173 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,100,786. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.52 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.75.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. Analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.3% during the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 15.6% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $116,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Western Digital by 10.7% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 51.2% during the third quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $62,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.