Loop Capital Boosts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $250.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective boosted by equities researchers at Loop Capital to $250.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Loop Capital’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 43.50% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on WDC. Susquehanna reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $135.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Western Digital from $135.00 to $145.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 31st. Zacks Research raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Western Digital from $160.00 to $200.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 31st. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $160.74.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC traded up $11.26 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $174.22. The stock had a trading volume of 11,207,051 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,372,175. The company has a current ratio of 1.08, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47. The company has a market capitalization of $59.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.81. The company’s 50-day moving average is $118.10 and its 200 day moving average is $81.43. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $176.23.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total transaction of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 135,351 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,121,547.78. The trade was a 9.41% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $150.69, for a total value of $3,013,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 645,467 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $97,265,422.23. This represents a 3.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 65,783 shares of company stock worth $6,639,843 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 7.1% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 116,812 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,723,000 after acquiring an additional 7,740 shares during the last quarter. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in Western Digital by 34.1% in the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Cerity Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.2% during the first quarter. Cerity Partners LLC now owns 97,167 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,928,000 after purchasing an additional 2,120 shares in the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 56,714 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,293,000 after acquiring an additional 762 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. lifted its position in Western Digital by 3.2% during the first quarter. Mountain Hill Investment Partners Corp. now owns 82,941 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 2,600 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.