Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $100.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $94.00 to $100.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Morgan Stanley currently has an overweight rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

WDC has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday. Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Evercore ISI reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 price objective on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Saturday, July 6th. Finally, Benchmark restated a “buy” rating and set a $92.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research note on Thursday, September 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $86.09.

Western Digital Trading Up 4.7 %

Western Digital stock opened at $69.45 on Friday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $65.42 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $69.70. The company has a market capitalization of $22.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -13.97 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a one year low of $35.62 and a one year high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a current ratio of 1.32 and a quick ratio of 0.78.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced 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. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 3.75% and a negative return on equity of 2.63%. On average, analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related 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 transaction 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 2,169 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.96, for a total transaction of $134,391.24. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 32,601 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,019,957.96. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560 over the last three months. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Eastern Bank bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter worth about $27,000. Fairfield Financial Advisors LTD acquired a new position in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $30,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.