UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $70.00 to $74.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 10.15% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WDC. Susquehanna cut their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Bank of America cut their price target on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. BNP Paribas cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Robert W. Baird cut their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.42.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.5 %

Shares of WDC traded down $1.74 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $67.18. The company had a trading volume of 4,324,696 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,540,480. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.80 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.99 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Allstate Corp purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $611,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 10.3% during the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 202,512 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $12,076,000 after buying an additional 18,892 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Western Digital by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 102,479 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,111,000 after purchasing an additional 1,069 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $352,572,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL grew its stake in Western Digital by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,124 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.