Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Earns “Buy” Rating from Benchmark

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by Benchmark in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $92.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 32.47% from the company’s previous close.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. StockNews.com raised shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush raised their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.09.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.7 %

Western Digital stock opened at $69.45 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.68.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. AGF Management Ltd. boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $166,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 247.0% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,602,000 after buying an additional 1,029,658 shares in the last quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,089.7% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $73,126,000 after acquiring an additional 981,527 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 39.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $216,795,000 after acquiring an additional 810,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 304.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $53,750,000 after acquiring an additional 534,168 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.