Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and seventeen have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $84.24.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the company. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. TD Cowen decreased their price objective 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. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com raised Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, May 31st.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,873,374.30. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 17,955 shares of company stock valued at $1,053,560 over the last three months. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth $30,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $66.29 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $64.43 and a 200-day moving average of $69.54. The firm has a market cap of $21.65 billion, a P/E ratio of -13.34 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $35.62 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. As a group, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.