Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) has been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $84.24.

A number of research firms have commented on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, TD Cowen decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, September 13th.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $66.61 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.75 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.40 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $35.62 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $65.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $69.77.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $1,242,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 28.6% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $179,000 after purchasing an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $13,260,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its holdings 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 valued at $26,073,000 after acquiring an additional 23,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,089.7% during the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $73,126,000 after acquiring an additional 981,527 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.