Robert W. Baird Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $100.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target boosted by Robert W. Baird from $65.00 to $100.00 in a research report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WDC. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their target price on Western Digital from $70.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Monday, April 8th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America increased their target price on Western Digital from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 17th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Western Digital from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a research note on Friday, April 5th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $77.25.

Western Digital Stock Up 2.8 %

WDC stock opened at $71.36 on Friday. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $32.01 and a twelve month high of $76.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The firm has a market cap of $23.25 billion, a PE ratio of -14.36 and a beta of 1.57. The business has a 50 day moving average of $65.08 and a 200 day moving average of $55.09.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 13.67% and a negative net margin of 12.87%. The company had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned ($1.57) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital 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 in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Highview Capital Management LLC DE purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $701,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $267,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 37.3% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 843 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Whalen Wealth Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $538,000. Finally, Wolff Financial Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $220,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.