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

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price raised by equities research analysts at Benchmark from $58.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Benchmark’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 11.04% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WDC. Loop Capital restated a “buy” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley lowered their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Citigroup boosted their price target on Western Digital from $62.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Wedbush raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $78.74.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC opened at $76.55 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $62.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $53.90. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.08. 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 52-week low of $28.83 and a 52-week high of $78.80.

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

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

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 owned 605,481 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. 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 the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 52.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% during the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,834,000 after acquiring an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $3,608,000 after acquiring an additional 5,711 shares during the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at $5,711,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. increased its position in Western Digital by 1.6% in the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 242,349 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $9,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.