Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) PT Raised to $86.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective raised by Morgan Stanley from $83.00 to $86.00 in a report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Barclays raised their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Western Digital from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Finally, Evercore ISI assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday, March 27th. They set an outperform rating and a $80.00 price objective for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of WDC opened at $71.36 on Friday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $65.08 and its 200-day moving average is $54.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $32.01 and a fifty-two week high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.67% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.57) EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $212,900,000. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $150,958,000. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $48,466,000. Nomura Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% in the third quarter. Nomura Holdings Inc. now owns 13,361,999 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $609,708,000 after purchasing an additional 870,971 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mizuho Markets Americas LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $37,260,000. 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.