Western Digital’s (WDC) Overweight Rating Reiterated at Cantor Fitzgerald

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reissued by equities researchers at Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $95.00 target price on the data storage provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 47.25% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WDC. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Mizuho dropped 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. BNP Paribas cut their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $85.65.

Western Digital Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $64.51 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.52 and its 200 day moving average is $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $52.76 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.02 and a beta of 1.43.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted ($1.97) earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% during the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $42,000. 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.