Robert W. Baird Increases Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $100.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price boosted by Robert W. Baird from $65.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James lowered shares of Western Digital from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a research note on Monday, April 22nd. Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $85.00 price target for the company in a research note on Friday. Evercore ISI began coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an outperform rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.76.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $69.86 on Friday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $32.01 and a 52 week high of $76.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.86, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The stock has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.06 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $55.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($1.57) EPS. Analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 37.3% during the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 843 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 10.9% during the 4th quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 2,577 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $135,000 after purchasing an additional 254 shares during the last quarter. Czech National Bank increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,050 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $3,893,000 after purchasing an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 79.1% during the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Natixis Advisors L.P. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.9% during the 3rd quarter. Natixis Advisors L.P. now owns 37,156 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,695,000 after purchasing an additional 338 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.