Wells Fargo & Company Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $85.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective cut by Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a report released on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the subject of several other research reports. Benchmark downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley reduced their target price on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, November 29th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.65.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2 %

Western Digital stock opened at $65.04 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $22.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 1.43. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $52.76 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $65.43 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $66.31. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($1.97) EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related 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 sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total transaction of $139,390.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % 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 valued at $7,768,381 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $42,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.