Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Research Coverage Started at Morgan Stanley

Morgan Stanley assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a report published on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an overweight rating and a $46.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 14th. Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.68.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $36.51 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $45.41 and its 200-day moving average is $58.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released 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%. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Mather Group LLC. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after buying an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its position in Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after acquiring an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas boosted its stake in Western Digital by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the period. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 4.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $258,000 after purchasing an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.