Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Raised to Buy at Summit Insights

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) was upgraded by research analysts at Summit Insights from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat.com reports.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on the company. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a report on Thursday, April 24th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company reissued a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, April 11th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “underperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, April 11th. Finally, Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $65.65.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $43.95 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $40.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.28. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The company has a market cap of $15.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 10.46 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The firm had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th 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. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP raised its stake in Western Digital by 34.1% during the 1st quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.