Rosenblatt Securities Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective reduced by equities research analysts at Rosenblatt Securities from $76.00 to $50.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ target price indicates a potential upside of 22.22% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on WDC. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 17th. UBS Group reduced their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, April 11th. Bank of America lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Finally, Morgan Stanley initiated coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 target price on the stock. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $71.32.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $40.91 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $14.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 9.74 and a beta of 1.39. 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 company’s 50 day moving average price is $41.76 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $57.65. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.