Citigroup Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $85.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price reduced by equities researchers at Citigroup from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 34.26% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Susquehanna decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $82.82.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $63.31 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $66.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $69.27. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $21.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -12.74 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 4th. The shares were 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 approximately $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total transaction of $178,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 37,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,303.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 18,174 shares of company stock valued at $1,070,642. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is 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.