The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $80.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target raised by investment analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $70.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 22.83% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WDC. Wells Fargo & Company dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. UBS Group cut their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen 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 $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $65.13 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $65.67 and a 200-day moving average price of $65.44. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $52.77 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 16.13%. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares during the period. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the period. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. 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.