Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price increased by equities research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $78.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 28.05% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on WDC. Loop Capital reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Barclays set a $50.00 price target on shares of Western Digital and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Benchmark raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $64.47.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.4%

NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.24 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $66.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 861,829 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,599,110. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $55.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.03. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.62 and a beta of 1.54. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $80.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a current ratio of 1.56 and a quick ratio of 1.31.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 33.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.63 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to reacquire up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Avanza Fonder AB boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Avanza Fonder AB now owns 25,258 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,616,000 after acquiring an additional 513 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional raised its holdings in Western Digital by 78.0% during the second quarter. CX Institutional now owns 5,676 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $363,000 after buying an additional 2,487 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. raised its holdings in Western Digital by 6.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,465 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $222,000 after buying an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Weatherly Asset Management L. P. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth about $244,000. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.2% in the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 71,070 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,548,000 after purchasing an additional 872 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.