Bank of America Cuts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $80.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price target cut by investment analysts at Bank of America from $89.00 to $80.00 in a report released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Bank of America's target price points to a potential upside of 23.00% from the company's current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently issued reports on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, November 29th. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Mizuho dropped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $90.00 to $82.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $81.00 to $70.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, January 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.65.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $0.79 during trading on Thursday, hitting $65.04. 7,160,490 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 5,068,281. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $65.52 and a 200-day moving average price of $66.47. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.48 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 1.43. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $52.76 and a 12-month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.97) earnings per share. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 6.26 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,208,417.98. This represents a 18.52 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on 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 of the company's stock, valued at approximately $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 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Versant Capital Management Inc lifted its stake in 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 purchasing an additional 304 shares during the last quarter. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the third quarter valued at approximately $27,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 415 shares in the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Kathleen S. Wright Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter valued at $42,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.