Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Now Covered by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on WDC. Robert W. Baird reduced their price target 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. Susquehanna reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target 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. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $95.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.05.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $48.93 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a fifty day moving average price of $63.42 and a 200 day moving average price of $65.21. The company has a market cap of $17.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.65 and a beta of 1.44. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $39.58 and a 12 month high of $61.16.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake 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 acquiring an additional 304 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2,184.2% during 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 period. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $41,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently 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.