Wells Fargo & Company Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 49.30% from the company’s previous close.

WDC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Bank of America lowered their target price on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Mizuho reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.05.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock traded up $1.22 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $50.24. The company had a trading volume of 1,015,686 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,934,389. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $64.45 and a 200 day simple moving average of $65.59. The company has a market cap of $17.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.95 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $39.58 and a fifty-two week high of $61.16.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio increased its stake in Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 151,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $9,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares during the last quarter. Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 158.6% during the 4th quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 100,610 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,999,000 after acquiring an additional 61,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $716,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.