Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Cut to $90.00 by Analysts at BNP Paribas

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective trimmed by BNP Paribas from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report released on Thursday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WDC. Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Wedbush boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Summit Insights cut Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $83.95.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $66.32 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.78, a current ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The stock has a market cap of $22.92 billion, a P/E ratio of -36.44 and a beta of 1.39. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $65.31 and its 200-day moving average price is $69.73. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $35.62 and a 52 week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 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 business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.77 billion. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total transaction of $27,059.13. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock worth $6,327,560. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $273,000. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $437,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at about $36,000. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth about $299,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 8.6% during the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 822,281 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $56,112,000 after buying an additional 64,980 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.