Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Cut to $82.00 by Analysts at Mizuho

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its target price dropped by equities researchers at Mizuho from $90.00 to $82.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an "outperform" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Mizuho's price target points to a potential upside of 27.99% from the company's current price.

A number of other research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Susquehanna boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup cut their price objective on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $85.95.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC traded up $2.20 on Friday, reaching $64.07. 4,145,093 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 4,708,946. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $48.96 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a PE ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. The company's 50-day moving average price is $66.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $67.29.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 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 trade represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,993 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.94, for a total value of $139,390.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,608 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,140,723.52. The trade was a 6.11 % 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 worth $7,768,381 over the last ninety days. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. AGF Management Ltd. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% during the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its stake 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 worth $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% in the third 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 valued at $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP grew its stake in 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 valued at $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. 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.