Barclays Boosts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $90.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective increased by Barclays from $80.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. Susquehanna boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.09.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $69.45 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $65.42 and a 200 day moving average of $69.67. The firm has a market cap of $22.68 billion, a PE ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.97) earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. Hedge funds and other 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.