UBS Group Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $70.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target decreased by UBS Group from $78.00 to $70.00 in a report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also recently weighed in on WDC. Mizuho decreased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Morgan Stanley cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday. Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $65.13 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a PE ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43. 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 firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.67 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.44. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 16.13%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027 over the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

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