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

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target lowered 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 also recently issued reports on the company. Susquehanna increased their price target on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Barclays increased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.95.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC opened at $64.07 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.19 and a 200 day simple moving average of $67.10. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $48.96 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The company has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($1.97) earnings per share. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, 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 made changes to their positions in the stock. Aigen Investment Management LP increased its position in Western Digital by 124.2% during the 3rd quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the period. Avala Global LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter. Avala Global LP now owns 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $78,376,000 after purchasing an additional 377,500 shares during the last quarter. Swedbank AB increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 19.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $19,925,000 after buying an additional 47,965 shares during the period. KBC Group NV raised its stake in Western Digital by 11.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 277,010 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $18,917,000 after buying an additional 27,849 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 137.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,976,000 after buying an additional 25,262 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.