Rosenblatt Securities Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price cut by research analysts at Rosenblatt Securities from $115.00 to $95.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Rosenblatt Securities’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 44.42% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WDC. Morgan Stanley cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Mizuho decreased their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Susquehanna upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.68.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $65.78 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.74 billion, a PE ratio of 38.69 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.70 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.62. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital will post 5.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sachem Head Capital Management LP increased its position in Western Digital by 75.2% during the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after buying an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% in the third 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 valued at $253,453,000 after acquiring an additional 732,344 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP raised its holdings in 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 buying an additional 651,847 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after acquiring an additional 423,651 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 13.2% in the third quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $224,497,000 after acquiring an additional 383,390 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is 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.