Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Upgraded at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $85.00 price objective on the data storage provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Evercore ISI began coverage on Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, March 27th. They issued an outperform rating and a $80.00 price target for the company. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and increased their target price for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. Finally, Mizuho increased their target price on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $77.25.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock opened at $71.36 on Friday. The stock 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 simple moving average of $65.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $55.09. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $32.01 and a 52-week high of $76.92.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the sale, 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. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was 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 directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was 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 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 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Rise Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter worth approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter worth $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 79.1% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the period. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.