Argus Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $88.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target increased by Argus from $68.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on WDC. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Western Digital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Benchmark raised Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and set a $85.00 price objective for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $77.76.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $69.72 on Monday. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $32.01 and a 52 week high of $76.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company’s fifty day moving average is $66.07 and its 200-day moving average is $55.54. The company has a market capitalization of $22.72 billion, a PE ratio of -14.19 and a beta of 1.53.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($1.57) EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Western Digital will post -1.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the sale, 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 SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 10.6% during the first quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 39,561 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,700,000 after buying an additional 3,796 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.6% during the first quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 24,411 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,674,000 after buying an additional 2,530 shares in the last quarter. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $30,000. BNP Paribas acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $2,889,000. Finally, Tobam lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 102.9% during the first quarter. Tobam now owns 2,358 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 1,196 shares in the last quarter. 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.