Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $80.00 to $90.00. The stock had previously closed at $66.32, but opened at $72.59. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Western Digital shares last traded at $72.19, with a volume of 5,096,482 shares.

Several other analysts also recently commented on WDC. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group dropped 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 report on Thursday. BNP Paribas reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald raised their price objective on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, StockNews.com raised Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $86.09.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total value of $178,292.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 37,448 shares in the company, valued at $2,302,303.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the 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 transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $1,242,000. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Western Digital by 28.6% during the first quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 2,619 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $179,000 after acquiring an additional 583 shares during the last quarter. Ghisallo Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at approximately $13,260,000. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System grew its holdings in Western Digital by 6.6% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 382,071 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $26,073,000 after purchasing an additional 23,781 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 1,089.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 981,527 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Stock Performance

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 firm has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $65.42 and a 200-day moving average price of $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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates 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, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital Co. will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current year.

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.