Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given “Overweight” Rating at Cantor Fitzgerald

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by Cantor Fitzgerald in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $80.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s target price points to a potential upside of 27.55% from the company’s current price.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on WDC. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Mizuho upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, May 31st. StockNews.com raised Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Saturday, July 6th. Susquehanna cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Finally, Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.27.

Western Digital Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.11 on Tuesday, hitting $62.72. 648,091 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,364,297. The company has a market capitalization of $21.54 billion, a PE ratio of -12.62 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $35.62 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $67.14 and its 200 day moving average is $69.27.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.48, for a total transaction of $178,292.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 37,448 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,302,303.04. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 18,174 shares of company stock worth $1,070,642. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,579,938 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,020,431,000 after buying an additional 215,207 shares in the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 7,857,586 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $595,369,000 after acquiring an additional 206,756 shares in the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth approximately $212,900,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at $150,958,000. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.2% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 2,881,847 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,400,000 after purchasing an additional 143,074 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.