UBS Group Issues Positive Forecast for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective increased by research analysts at UBS Group from $40.00 to $45.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. UBS Group’s price target suggests a potential upside of 0.69% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WDC. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. TD Cowen decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $58.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday. StockNews.com started coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Cantor Fitzgerald cut their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $65.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, March 7th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities cut their price target on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.65.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.7 %

NASDAQ WDC opened at $44.69 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $15.54 billion, a PE ratio of 10.64 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $28.83 and a 12 month high of $81.55. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $40.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.13. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,659 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $41.36, for a total transaction of $68,616.24. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 43,776 shares in the company, valued at $1,810,575.36. This trade represents a 3.65 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.30% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $352,572,000. AMF Tjanstepension AB purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the 4th quarter worth approximately $94,181,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 3.5% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,459,767 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $2,531,876,000 after acquiring an additional 1,439,149 shares during the last quarter. Freestone Grove Partners LP purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $68,950,000. Finally, Atalan Capital Partners LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth approximately $62,612,000. 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.