Brokerages Set Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target at $87.71

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.71.

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.7 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $62.80 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $66.30 and its 200 day moving average is $69.32. 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 12 month low of $45.23 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $21.71 billion, a PE ratio of 36.94 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total transaction of $178,292.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 37,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,303.04. This represents a 7.19 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the 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 directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 188,561 shares of company stock valued at $13,309,042 in the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 583 shares in the last quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the last quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 137.9% during the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,976,000 after purchasing an additional 25,262 shares during the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $13,260,000. Finally, State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 6.6% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 382,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,073,000 after purchasing an additional 23,781 shares during the last quarter. 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.