Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given “Buy” Rating at Benchmark

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by equities researchers at Benchmark in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $92.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Benchmark’s target price indicates a potential upside of 25.80% from the stock’s previous close.

WDC has been the topic of several other research reports. TD Cowen cut their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas decreased their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note on Thursday. Summit Insights downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.95.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded up $6.81 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $73.13. 6,768,083 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,119,493. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $35.62 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $25.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.23 and a beta of 1.39. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $65.31 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.73. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth $437,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $36,000. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 8.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 822,281 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $56,112,000 after purchasing an additional 64,980 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 14.9% during the first quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. now owns 5,688 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $388,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fountainhead AM LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $239,000. Institutional investors 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.