Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) PT Raised to $85.00 at Evercore ISI

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Evercore ISI from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “outperform” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Evercore ISI’s price target points to a potential upside of 19.11% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 12th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities raised shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $71.36 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of -14.36 and a beta of 1.57. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $32.01 and a 1 year high of $76.92. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $65.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $55.03. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.67%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned ($1.57) earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% in the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 79.1% in the 3rd quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 330 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.