Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Lowered to $82.00 at Mizuho

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target decreased by Mizuho from $90.00 to $82.00 in a research report report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. Mizuho currently has an outperform rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WDC. Benchmark lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Barclays boosted their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.95.

Western Digital Stock Up 3.6 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $64.07 on Friday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $48.96 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 1.42. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $66.19 and its 200-day moving average price is $67.29.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned ($1.97) EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. State Street Corp increased its position in Western Digital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after purchasing an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% during the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $539,355,000 after purchasing an additional 76,781 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% during the third quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $253,453,000 after buying an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 13.2% during the third quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $224,497,000 after buying an additional 383,390 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP boosted its position in Western Digital by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,034,000 after acquiring an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.