Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Increased to $83.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 20.38% from the company’s current price.

WDC has been the subject of several other reports. UBS Group boosted their target price on Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho boosted their target price on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Evercore ISI started coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.17.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.95. The stock had a trading volume of 2,165,161 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,946,211. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.68 and a beta of 1.57. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $31.97 and a 52 week high of $76.92. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.30 and a 200 day simple moving average of $53.89. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned ($0.69) earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post -2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.