Morgan Stanley Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target reduced by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $100.00 to $93.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 54.38% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on WDC. BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.33.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.0 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $60.24 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $20.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.44 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $48.96 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $67.50 and a 200-day simple moving average of $68.50.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm’s revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.97) EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. The trade was a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. State Street Corp raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after buying an additional 423,651 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $539,355,000 after acquiring an additional 76,781 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in Western Digital by 24.6% in the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares in the last quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% during the 3rd quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $224,497,000 after purchasing an additional 383,390 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% in the third quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.