Mizuho Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $68.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price lowered by Mizuho from $82.00 to $68.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the topic of several other research reports. Susquehanna decreased their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, March 17th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.00.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.3 %

Shares of WDC opened at $34.40 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.97 billion, a PE ratio of 8.19 and a beta of 1.39. The company’s fifty day moving average is $48.44 and its 200 day moving average is $59.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $28.83 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Gateway Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $4,864,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.6% in the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 79,889 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,230,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its stake in Western Digital by 7.3% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 674,874 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $27,285,000 after purchasing an additional 46,202 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3,470.0% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 253,294 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $10,241,000 after buying an additional 246,199 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Western Digital by 879.4% during the 1st quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 4,045 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $164,000 after purchasing an additional 3,632 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently 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.