Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Now Covered by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Analysts at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday. The firm set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 29.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. StockNews.com began coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Bank of America dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.68.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $35.61. 287,692 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,322,854. The company has a market capitalization of $12.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $47.29 and its 200-day simple moving average is $59.47.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. The trade was a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Western Digital by 7.0% in the fourth quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,416 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares in the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. lifted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. BNP Paribas increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares during the last quarter. Inspire Investing LLC increased its position in Western Digital by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 4,324 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $258,000 after buying an additional 177 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.