Citigroup Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price reduced by Citigroup from $82.00 to $80.00 in a report issued on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on WDC. Rosenblatt Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $95.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on Western Digital from $100.00 to $93.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Benchmark downgraded Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.68.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC opened at $65.78 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.91, a current ratio of 1.47 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49. The business’s 50 day moving average is $65.70 and its 200 day moving average is $65.62. The stock has a market cap of $22.74 billion, a P/E ratio of 15.66 and a beta of 1.43. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $52.77 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a net margin of 9.95% and a return on equity of 16.13%. Sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 5.37 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total value of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sachem Head Capital Management LP raised its position in Western Digital by 75.2% during the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 3.2% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 13,572,686 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $926,879,000 after purchasing an additional 423,651 shares during the period. Finally, Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 13.2% during the third quarter. Maple Rock Capital Partners Inc. now owns 3,287,400 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $224,497,000 after buying an additional 383,390 shares in the last quarter. 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.