Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Cut to Hold at Benchmark

Benchmark cut shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Benchmark currently has $70.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BNP Paribas lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. Citigroup lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $60.24 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44 and a beta of 1.42. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $67.41 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.39. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $48.96 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 21.1% in the 2nd quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,896 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $598,000 after purchasing an additional 1,374 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 121.7% during the 2nd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 541 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 297 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth about $34,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 27.0% during the 2nd quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,398 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $561,000 after acquiring an additional 1,573 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Retirement Systems of Alabama raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% during the 2nd quarter. Retirement Systems of Alabama now owns 72,028 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,458,000 after acquiring an additional 463 shares in the last quarter. 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.