Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald decreased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, March 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $45.00 to $57.00 in a report on Thursday. Rosenblatt Securities cut their price objective on Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Mizuho reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $46.00 to $54.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $65.65.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $44.69 on Friday. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $81.55. The company’s fifty day moving average is $40.46 and its two-hundred day moving average is $57.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.39.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. The company had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. The business’s revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.63 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, March 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total value of $68,616.24. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 278.9% in the fourth quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 413 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 304 shares in the last quarter. Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA bought a new stake in Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at about $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Elequin Capital LP bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 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.