Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives $84.24 Average Price Target from Analysts

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1 year price objective among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.24.

Several research firms have issued reports on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Wedbush boosted their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $67.26 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of -36.96 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $35.62 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $64.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.84. 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 issued 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 firm 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%. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was 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 owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,019,957.96. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following 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 position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $379,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $273,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 31.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,953 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $133,000 after buying an additional 463 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $136,000. Finally, Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.