UBS Group Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $80.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective lifted by UBS Group from $65.00 to $80.00 in a research report report published on Monday morning, Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Western Digital from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 5th. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Monday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Western Digital from $52.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Mizuho upped their price target on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $72.61.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $70.17 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $63.30 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.89. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $76.92. The firm has a market cap of $22.87 billion, a PE ratio of -9.84 and a beta of 1.57.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.69) EPS. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post -2.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $31,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.