The Goldman Sachs Group Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) had its price target decreased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $81.00 to $70.00 in a research report released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider's stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WDC. Mizuho dropped their price target on Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, January 3rd. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $85.86.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC traded down $1.24 during trading on Friday, reaching $62.82. 4,652,475 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,973,746. The company has a market capitalization of $21.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.95 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.95 and a 200 day moving average price of $66.91. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $49.68 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 4.81% and a return on equity of 8.57%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted ($1.97) earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total value of $2,092,463.67. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 135,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at $2,020,121.37. This trade represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 over the last 90 days. 0.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 247.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $109,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% in the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $138,629,000 after purchasing an additional 871,500 shares during the period. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $253,453,000 after buying an additional 732,344 shares during the last quarter. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $218,034,000 after buying an additional 651,847 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its stake in Western Digital by 304.9% in the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $53,750,000 after buying an additional 534,168 shares during the last quarter. 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.