Susquehanna Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target dropped by research analysts at Susquehanna from $83.00 to $72.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price points to a potential upside of 10.55% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Citigroup decreased their target price on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. UBS Group reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $65.13 on Thursday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.67 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 16.13% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 5.37 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $926,879,000 after acquiring an additional 423,651 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.0% during 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 purchasing an additional 76,781 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% during 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 stake in Western Digital by 13.2% in 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 period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its holdings in Western Digital by 25.7% during the 3rd 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 in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.