Western Digital’s (WDC) “Outperform” Rating Reaffirmed at Wedbush

Wedbush reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a report issued on Monday morning,RTT News reports. They currently have a $95.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the topic of several other reports. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Mizuho decreased their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Up 7.1 %

WDC stock opened at $69.04 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $64.85 and its 200-day moving average is $65.16.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $94,181,000. Sachem Head Capital Management LP boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares in the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parnassus Investments LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 24.5% in the fourth quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 2,980,047 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $177,700,000 after purchasing an additional 586,924 shares during 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.