Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated their overweight rating on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $95.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other analysts have also commented on WDC. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target 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, October 24th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $87.71.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $73.02 on Tuesday. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $46.28 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $69.06. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a market cap of $25.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 42.95 and a beta of 1.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned ($1.97) earnings per share. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,019,957.96. This trade represents a 6.24 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 186,278 shares of company stock worth $13,173,985 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Synovus Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 20.0% in the third quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 9,562 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $653,000 after acquiring an additional 1,591 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 123.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 41,028 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,802,000 after acquiring an additional 22,670 shares during the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $183,000. Sanctuary Advisors LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 13.2% in the third quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 20,285 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,348,000 after purchasing an additional 2,371 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth $720,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.