Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-one brokerages that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and sixteen have given a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $87.71.

WDC has been the subject of several analyst reports. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Summit Insights downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $94.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald raised their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,140,723.52. This trade represents a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 188,144 shares of company stock valued at $13,281,983. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $720,000. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $539,355,000 after purchasing an additional 76,781 shares during the last quarter. Aequim Alternative Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 142.2% in the 3rd quarter. Aequim Alternative Investments LP now owns 371,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,336,000 after purchasing an additional 217,800 shares during the period. Sender Co & Partners Inc. purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,397,000. Finally, Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% during the third quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 101,410 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $6,925,000 after purchasing an additional 5,986 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $65.29 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $22.57 billion, a PE ratio of 38.41 and a beta of 1.40. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $46.05 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $66.39 and its 200-day moving average is $69.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47.

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

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.