Benchmark Downgrades Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) to Hold

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) was downgraded by analysts at Benchmark from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They presently have a $70.00 price objective on the data storage provider's stock. Benchmark's price target suggests a potential upside of 17.41% from the stock's previous close.

WDC has been the topic of a number of other reports. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, November 29th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Cantor Fitzgerald restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $95.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Tuesday, November 26th. BNP Paribas dropped their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $86.33.

Western Digital Stock Down 6.2 %

Shares of Western Digital stock traded down $3.92 during trading on Thursday, hitting $59.62. 13,445,586 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,040,868. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $67.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $68.50. The firm has a market cap of $20.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.07 and a beta of 1.42. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $48.96 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The firm had revenue of $4.10 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($1.97) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total value of $5,443,500.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares in the company, valued at $59,633,905.40. This trade represents a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 184,107 shares of company stock valued at $13,042,381. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Eastern Bank purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD purchased a new position in Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $29,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $30,000 after buying an additional 415 shares during the last quarter. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $34,000. Finally, Ashton Thomas Private Wealth LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth about $34,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.