Morgan Stanley Initiates Coverage on Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)

Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) in a report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $46.00 target price on the data storage provider's stock.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Rosenblatt Securities lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 29th. Bank of America decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Cantor Fitzgerald dropped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Mizuho decreased their price target on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $73.68.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of WDC traded up $0.89 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $36.51. The company had a trading volume of 7,393,307 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,368,571. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $45.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $58.88. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The stock has a market cap of $12.70 billion, a PE ratio of 8.69 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 43,776 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,810,575.36. This represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its stake in Western Digital by 278.9% in the 4th quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $25,000 after buying an additional 304 shares during the period. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.