UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective lifted by stock analysts at UBS Group from $70.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 9.53% from the company’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Monday. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.42.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.4 %

Western Digital stock opened at $67.56 on Wednesday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $64.60 and its 200-day simple moving average is $65.20. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $52.77 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $23.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.09 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth 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 in the last quarter. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.