The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $72.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target cut by The Goldman Sachs Group from $79.00 to $72.00 in a report released on Thursday. They currently have a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the subject of several other research reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Summit Insights cut shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $86.09.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $69.45 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.42 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $69.68. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $81.55.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders 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

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at about $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at approximately $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth $34,000. 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.