TD Cowen Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price hoisted by research analysts at TD Cowen from $58.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Marketbeat reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. TD Cowen’s price target suggests a potential upside of 17.57% from the stock’s current price.

WDC has been the topic of several other research reports. Wall Street Zen initiated coverage on Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Benchmark raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $55.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $78.74.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $76.55 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.86 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 1.31. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $62.22 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.90.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 30.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback program on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization authorizes the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are usually a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Private Wealth Management Group LLC grew its stake in Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $29,000. CNB Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Allworth Financial LP boosted its stake in shares of 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 buying an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $40,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.