Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Downgraded to “Market Perform” at Raymond James

Raymond James cut shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report issued on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Western Digital from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Bank of America raised their target price on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, April 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $73.72.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.5 %

WDC stock opened at $67.05 on Monday. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $76.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company has a market capitalization of $21.85 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.40 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.90 and a 200-day simple moving average of $54.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($0.69) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post -2.21 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 79.1% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently 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.