Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the twenty-one analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $87.71.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WDC shares. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and issued a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their target price on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total value of $139,390.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. This represents a 6.11 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction 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 $9,208,417.98. This trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock worth $13,042,381. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Eastern Bank purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC grew its position 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 in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Western Digital in the second quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the second quarter valued at about $34,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company's stock.

Western Digital Stock Down 1.4 %

WDC stock traded down $1.04 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $71.07. 3,760,053 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,915,117. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $46.75 and a 52 week high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $24.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.81 and a beta of 1.42. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $67.54 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.03. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49.

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

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.