Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Downgraded to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

WDC has been the topic of several other reports. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, February 25th. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $43.39 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $57.06 and a 200 day moving average of $62.86. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $39.42 and a 1 year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,864 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after buying an additional 4,324 shares during the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $9,663,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 151,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $9,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $40,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $273,852,000 after purchasing an additional 881,088 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.