Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Rating Lowered by Benchmark

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was downgraded by Benchmark from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $70.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 16.20% from the stock’s previous close.

WDC has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. UBS Group cut their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Finally, BNP Paribas dropped their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $86.33.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $60.24 on Thursday. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $48.96 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $67.50 and a 200-day moving average price of $68.50. The firm has a market cap of $20.83 billion, a PE ratio of 35.44 and a beta of 1.42.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction 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 document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 7.72 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 5.4% during the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 2,929 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $200,000 after buying an additional 149 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 22.6% during the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 932 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $64,000 after purchasing an additional 172 shares in the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 1.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 2.3% in the second quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC lifted its position in Western Digital by 2.4% during the third quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 10,891 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 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.