Robert W. Baird Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $80.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target reduced by investment analysts at Robert W. Baird from $100.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Robert W. Baird’s price target points to a potential upside of 22.83% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WDC. Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. UBS Group dropped their target price on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their price target on Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Susquehanna dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $65.13 on Thursday. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.52.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.