Bank of America Increases Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $85.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Bank of America from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s target price points to a potential upside of 20.96% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on WDC. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Western Digital from $52.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Rosenblatt Securities raised Western Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $68.00 to $83.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $58.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 12th. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have given a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $72.61.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.79 on Wednesday, reaching $70.27. 3,846,267 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,975,997. The company has a 50-day moving average of $63.05 and a 200-day moving average of $53.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 1.57. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $31.97 and a 1-year high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The firm had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.69) EPS. Western Digital’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.25% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 292.1% in the 1st quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 30,302 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $1,504,000 after buying an additional 22,573 shares during the last quarter. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at about $57,000. Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in Western Digital by 1,535.0% during the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 8,649 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $426,000 after purchasing an additional 8,120 shares during the period. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 7.0% during the first quarter. Commonwealth of Pennsylvania Public School Empls Retrmt SYS now owns 41,869 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,079,000 after buying an additional 2,755 shares during the period. Finally, Great West Life Assurance Co. Can grew its holdings in Western Digital by 1.9% in the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 197,219 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $10,331,000 after buying an additional 3,642 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Company Profile

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.