Wells Fargo & Company Lowers Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $85.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company from $95.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Wells Fargo & Company‘s price target suggests a potential upside of 32.07% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on WDC. Citigroup dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Mizuho decreased their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Cantor Fitzgerald reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, November 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 10th. Finally, BNP Paribas cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $85.38.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded down $0.27 during trading on Thursday, hitting $64.36. The company had a trading volume of 945,306 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,386,602. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $51.75 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $65.64 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.49. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The firm has a market cap of $22.25 billion, a PE ratio of 37.86 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned ($1.97) earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% during the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 2,184.2% in the third quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 434 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP bought a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth $42,000. Hedge funds and other 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.