Morgan Stanley Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $100.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 34.41% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wedbush lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, August 15th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, September 13th. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.59.

Western Digital Stock Up 12.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $74.40 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The business has a 50-day moving average of $65.31 and a 200-day moving average of $69.73. The firm has a market capitalization of $25.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -40.88 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $35.62 and a 12 month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. The firm had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Sell-side analysts expect that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 1.3% in the 2nd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,209,000 after buying an additional 203 shares during the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 15.6% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $116,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 10.7% in the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares during the period. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. increased its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the second quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $784,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. raised its position in shares of Western Digital by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. 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.