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

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was upgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WDC. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. UBS Group upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, April 15th. Bank of America raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $77.76.

Western Digital Stock Down 2.1 %

Shares of WDC traded down $1.50 on Monday, reaching $69.86. The stock had a trading volume of 8,996,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,120,395. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $32.01 and a 12-month high of $76.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -14.06 and a beta of 1.56. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $65.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.26.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.75% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted ($1.57) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust grew its stake in Western Digital by 79.1% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after acquiring an additional 330 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by 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.