Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Increased to $83.00 by Analysts at Morgan Stanley

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target increased by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $73.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.38% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also issued reports about the company. Evercore ISI began coverage on Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $80.00 target price for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald upped their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 8th. Raymond James upped their target price on Western Digital from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho upped their price objective on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.17.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.7 %

WDC traded down $1.22 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $68.95. 2,165,161 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,946,211. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.47 billion, a P/E ratio of -9.68 and a beta of 1.57. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $63.30 and its 200-day moving average price is $53.89. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted ($0.69) EPS. The firm’s revenue was down 2.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Janiczek Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth about $28,000. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $31,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.