Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $80.00 Price Target at The Goldman Sachs Group

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target raised by The Goldman Sachs Group from $70.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the subject of a number of other reports. Mizuho decreased their price target 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. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Robert W. Baird dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered 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 note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $65.13 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $52.77 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $65.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.52.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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, analysts expect that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In the last three months, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Eastern Bank bought a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter valued at about $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th 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 period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the 3rd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.