Susquehanna Increases Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $83.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective upped by Susquehanna from $75.00 to $83.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Susquehanna’s target price suggests a potential upside of 13.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on WDC. 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 research report on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup reduced their price target on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research report on Thursday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $79.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $84.95.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock traded up $6.81 during trading on Friday, reaching $73.13. 6,768,083 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,119,493. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $35.62 and a 52-week high of $81.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a current ratio of 1.32. The company has a market cap of $25.28 billion, a P/E ratio of -39.23 and a beta of 1.39. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $65.31 and its 200 day moving average price is $69.73.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.17. The business had revenue of $3.76 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. As a group, analysts predict that Western Digital will post 7.75 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.89, for a total value of $27,059.13. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,331,098.17. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 417 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,870 shares in the company, valued at $1,873,374.30. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. AGF Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 28,925.8% in the second quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after acquiring an additional 2,194,603 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its holdings in Western Digital by 247.0% during the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,602,000 after purchasing an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1,089.7% in the 1st quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 1,071,600 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $73,126,000 after buying an additional 981,527 shares during the period. Bank of New York Mellon Corp raised its stake in Western Digital by 39.6% in the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 2,861,229 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $216,795,000 after buying an additional 810,977 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 304.9% during the second quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 709,386 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $53,750,000 after purchasing an additional 534,168 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.