Western Digital’s (WDC) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Benchmark

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by research analysts at Benchmark in a note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $92.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 39.39% from the company’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities restated a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Wedbush increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.24.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $66.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $35.62 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $64.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $69.54. The company has a market cap of $22.67 billion, a PE ratio of -13.28 and a beta of 1.39.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total value of $178,292.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 37,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,302,303.04. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital 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 owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 17,955 shares of company stock worth $1,053,560. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,242,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 28.6% during the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $179,000 after buying an additional 583 shares during the period. Gerber LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $567,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its position 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 worth $26,073,000 after buying an additional 23,781 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board grew its position 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 worth $73,126,000 after buying an additional 981,527 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.