Citigroup Increases Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $180.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price lifted by Citigroup from $135.00 to $180.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective points to a potential upside of 19.83% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on WDC. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $160.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Susquehanna increased their target price on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Western Digital from $94.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Finally, Loop Capital lifted their price objective on Western Digital from $92.00 to $150.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have assigned a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $151.63.

Western Digital Stock Up 8.7%

Shares of WDC 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 price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.14 and a beta of 1.77. Western Digital has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $157.65. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $110.20 and a 200 day moving average price of $76.82. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 24.93%. Analysts predict that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital 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 transaction, 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. ORG Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 124.5% in the 3rd quarter. ORG Partners LLC now owns 211 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 117 shares during the period. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 551.4% in the third quarter. Cullen Frost Bankers Inc. now owns 241 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Grove Bank & Trust acquired a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at about $30,000. Westfuller Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, JNBA Financial Advisors acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth about $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.