StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report released on Tuesday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WDC. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Robert W. Baird cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $100.00 to $80.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $84.42.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $71.29 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $64.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $65.45. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market cap of $24.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 16.97 and a beta of 1.44. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC lifted its stake 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 worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. Hedge funds and other 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.