The Goldman Sachs Group Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $70.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price cut by analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group from $81.00 to $70.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.43% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Benchmark lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 target price on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. TD Cowen decreased their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays increased their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, November 26th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.86.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.9 %

WDC opened at $62.82 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.89 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.76. Western Digital has a one year low of $49.68 and a one year high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $21.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.95 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.97) EPS. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 6.56 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, October 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 14.5% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 16,652 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $993,000 after buying an additional 2,112 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 3.8% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 27,666 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,669,000 after acquiring an additional 1,025 shares during the period. Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $385,000. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Western Digital by 7.7% during the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 7,095 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $423,000 after purchasing an additional 509 shares during the period. Finally, Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.