Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Stock analysts at Morgan Stanley started coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating and a $46.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.17% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Barclays dropped their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Bank of America reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reiterated a “neutral” rating on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.68.

Western Digital Trading Down 0.9 %

Western Digital stock traded down $0.32 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $35.61. The company had a trading volume of 287,692 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,322,854. The firm has a market cap of $12.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.47 and a beta of 1.39. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $47.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $59.47. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 earnings per share (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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its position 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 in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA purchased a new position in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $40,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.