Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Raised to $85.00 at Bank of America

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective hoisted by Bank of America from $75.00 to $85.00 in a report published on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WDC. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Western Digital from $52.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Mizuho upped their price objective on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, April 12th. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Digital from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Susquehanna upped their price objective on Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $73.17.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $66.05 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $63.71 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $54.13. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $31.97 and a 52-week high of $76.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $21.52 billion, a PE ratio of -9.26 and a beta of 1.57.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.30) by $0.61. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted ($0.69) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was 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 owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 30.3% in the fourth quarter. John G Ullman & Associates Inc. now owns 103,750 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,433,000 after purchasing an additional 24,100 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its stake in Western Digital by 2.3% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,028,114 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,173,000 after purchasing an additional 66,680 shares in the last quarter. Numerai GP LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $884,000. CoreCap Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,415,000. Finally, Sora Investors LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 441.7% in the third quarter. Sora Investors LLC now owns 325,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $14,830,000 after purchasing an additional 265,000 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Western Digital

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.