Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given Overweight Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Cantor Fitzgerald restated their overweight rating on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $95.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Barclays cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 17th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $84.21.

Western Digital Stock Up 7.1 %

Western Digital stock opened at $69.04 on Monday. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $52.77 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $64.85 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.16. The company has a market capitalization of $24.01 billion, a PE ratio of 16.44 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced 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 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. Research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders sold a total of 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027 in the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% in 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 buying an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 1.0% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,921,608 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $539,355,000 after acquiring an additional 76,781 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted 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 period. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 13.2% during 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of 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 worth $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.