Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, The Goldman Sachs Group Analyst Says

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target raised by research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.23% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $1.32 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $67.10. The company had a trading volume of 4,094,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,561,286. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $23.20 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.05 and a beta of 1.43. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.70 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $65.62.

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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 9.95%. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after buying an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $539,355,000 after acquiring an additional 76,781 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $224,497,000 after purchasing an additional 383,390 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares during 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.