Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $72.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $74.00 to $72.00 in a research note released on Thursday. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the subject of several other reports. Benchmark reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $92.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, September 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, September 10th. Susquehanna cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, BNP Paribas lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.09.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $69.45 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $65.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $69.67. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $35.62 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.97) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the 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 completion of the transaction, 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV increased its holdings in Western Digital by 15.6% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after buying an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. raised its stake in Western Digital by 10.7% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after buying an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after acquiring an additional 277 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is 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.