Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $80.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective increased by UBS Group from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research note published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also issued reports on the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and raised their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday. Susquehanna raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 10th. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, Mizuho raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $70.61.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $70.43 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.95 billion, a PE ratio of -9.88 and a beta of 1.56. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $62.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.59. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a current ratio of 1.67 and a quick ratio of 0.98. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $31.97 and a 12 month high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.30) by $0.61. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. Western Digital’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($0.69) earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post -2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% during the 1st quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 71,252 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $4,862,000 after buying an additional 7,501 shares during the last quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $437,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Finally, Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 57,050 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,893,000 after buying an additional 261 shares during the last quarter. 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.