Wells Fargo & Company Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $85.00 to $75.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price objective points to a potential upside of 49.52% from the stock’s current price.

Several other brokerages have also commented on WDC. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their target price 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. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. 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 report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Bank of America decreased their price objective 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. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.05.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.2 %

WDC opened at $50.16 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a current ratio of 1.99 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $63.87 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $65.41. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $39.58 and a fifty-two week high of $61.16.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued 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 net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 15.68%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after purchasing an additional 1,439,149 shares during the period. Freestone Grove Partners LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $62,612,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.