Western Digital’s (WDC) Overweight Rating Reaffirmed at Cantor Fitzgerald

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by investment analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald in a note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $95.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 39.73% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group decreased their target price on Western Digital from $78.00 to $70.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Western Digital from $82.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BNP Paribas decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $83.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price target on Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $84.21.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $3.53 during trading on Monday, reaching $67.99. The company had a trading volume of 2,481,611 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,194,244. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $64.94 and its 200 day moving average is $65.14. The firm has a market capitalization of $23.65 billion, a PE ratio of 16.16 and a beta of 1.44. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $52.77 and a twelve month high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its 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 15.68%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 28,863 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,347 shares of company stock worth $93,027. Corporate insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Aigen Investment Management LP grew its holdings in Western Digital by 124.2% in the third quarter. Aigen Investment Management LP now owns 21,412 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,462,000 after purchasing an additional 11,860 shares during the period. Avala Global LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 49.0% during the third quarter. Avala Global LP now owns 1,147,700 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $78,376,000 after purchasing an additional 377,500 shares during the period. Swedbank AB lifted its position in Western Digital by 19.7% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 291,777 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $19,925,000 after purchasing an additional 47,965 shares during the period. KBC Group NV lifted its position in Western Digital by 11.2% during the third quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 277,010 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $18,917,000 after purchasing an additional 27,849 shares during the period. Finally, Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 137.9% in the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 43,575 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,976,000 after acquiring an additional 25,262 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is owned by 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.