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

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at UBS Group from $78.00 to $70.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 7.48% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on WDC. BNP Paribas reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Susquehanna reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.0 %

WDC opened at $65.13 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $65.67 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.52. 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 twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The firm has a market cap of $22.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.51 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share 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%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 5.37 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital 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 completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $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 can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders sold a total of 1,347 shares of company stock valued at $93,027 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Beta Wealth Group Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Beta Wealth Group Inc. now owns 8,300 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $495,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 2,352.8% in the fourth quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 8,413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $502,000 after purchasing an additional 8,070 shares in the last quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 5.0% in the fourth quarter. Empower Advisory Group LLC now owns 7,580 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $452,000 after purchasing an additional 362 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its stake in Western Digital by 9.5% in the fourth quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 52,068 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,105,000 after purchasing an additional 4,535 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sanctuary Advisors LLC raised its stake in Western Digital by 4.7% in the fourth quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 21,247 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,398,000 after purchasing an additional 962 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.