Susquehanna Boosts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $83.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price raised by Susquehanna from $75.00 to $83.00 in a report issued on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. UBS Group decreased their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ WDC opened at $69.45 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $35.62 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a fifty day moving average of $65.42 and a 200-day moving average of $69.67.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total value of $134,391.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560 in the last quarter. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. SteelPeak Wealth LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 434.4% during the third quarter. SteelPeak Wealth LLC now owns 16,760 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,145,000 after buying an additional 13,624 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 9,307 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after purchasing an additional 1,517 shares during the last quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,637.9% in the 3rd quarter. Fortitude Family Office LLC now owns 2,016 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,000 after purchasing an additional 1,900 shares in the last quarter. abrdn plc raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.0% in the third quarter. abrdn plc now owns 119,577 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $8,205,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.9% during the third quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 87,967 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,007,000 after purchasing an additional 2,508 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.