Bank of America Boosts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $170.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target lifted by equities research analysts at Bank of America from $145.00 to $170.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 13.17% from the company’s current price.

Several other analysts have also commented on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $110.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Susquehanna lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 1st. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Western Digital to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. Zacks Research raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lifted 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, July 31st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.63.

Western Digital Trading Up 8.7%

Shares of Western Digital stock opened at $150.21 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $51.49 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.17, a P/E/G ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $110.20 and its 200-day simple moving average is $76.82. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $157.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. Analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 353 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.90, for a total transaction of $28,557.70. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 27,425 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,218,682.50. This represents a 1.27% 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. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. This represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594 in the last ninety days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pure Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.1% during the third quarter. Pure Financial Advisors LLC now owns 3,583 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $430,000 after acquiring an additional 107 shares during the period. Bogart Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 57.7% during the third quarter. Bogart Wealth LLC now owns 309 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $37,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.0% during the third quarter. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC now owns 3,871 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $465,000 after acquiring an additional 114 shares during the period. ORG Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% during the third quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 117 shares during the period. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 4.2% during the third quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 2,993 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $359,000 after acquiring an additional 120 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.