Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Rating Lowered to Hold at StockNews.com

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Benchmark lowered 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price 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, January 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $80.21.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $43.39 on Monday. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $39.42 and a 12-month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $57.06 and its 200 day simple moving average is $62.86. The company has a market cap of $15.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.33 and a beta of 1.42.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 29.7% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 18,864 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,125,000 after acquiring an additional 4,324 shares during the period. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $9,663,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.4% in the 4th quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 151,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $9,022,000 after purchasing an additional 2,053 shares in the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $273,852,000 after buying an additional 881,088 shares during the period. 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.