Citigroup Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $80.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective dropped by equities researchers at Citigroup from $82.00 to $80.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Citigroup’s target price suggests a potential upside of 21.62% from the stock’s previous close.

WDC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Susquehanna dropped their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 17th. Mizuho lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Finally, Benchmark downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price for the company. in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Seven 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, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.79.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

Western Digital stock traded up $2.98 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $65.78. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 16,553,190 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,702,572. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $52.77 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.70 and its two-hundred day moving average is $65.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its 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 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 5.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $732,000. Everhart Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 14.8% during the fourth quarter. Everhart Financial Group Inc. now owns 8,689 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $518,000 after acquiring an additional 1,119 shares in the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 628,672 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $37,488,000 after acquiring an additional 8,029 shares during the last quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.6% in the fourth quarter. Chevy Chase Trust Holdings LLC now owns 181,411 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $10,818,000 after acquiring an additional 6,331 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vontobel Holding Ltd. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,804 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $704,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.