Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $64.00 to $48.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Benchmark upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $50.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 17th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $76.16.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $35.93 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $47.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $59.47. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $12.50 billion, a PE ratio of 8.55 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 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%. Analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 32.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 45,131 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,691,000 after buying an additional 11,013 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 6.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 841,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $50,191,000 after purchasing an additional 50,188 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 4.0% during the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 390,826 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $23,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,189 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 83.9% during the fourth quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 31,634 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,886,000 after purchasing an additional 14,432 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Handelsbanken Fonder AB boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 53.3% in the 4th quarter. Handelsbanken Fonder AB now owns 99,444 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,930,000 after purchasing an additional 34,579 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.