Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives “Overweight” Rating from Cantor Fitzgerald

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reiterated by Cantor Fitzgerald in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $95.00 price target on the data storage provider’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald’s price target indicates a potential upside of 46.06% from the stock’s previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $74.00 to $72.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on Western Digital from $75.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Barclays decreased their target price on Western Digital from $90.00 to $80.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. BNP Paribas cut their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $85.65.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock opened at $65.04 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a current ratio of 1.47 and a quick ratio of 0.91. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $52.76 and a 1 year high of $81.55. The company has a market cap of $22.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.26 and a beta of 1.43. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $65.43 and its 200-day moving average price is $66.31.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.55 by $0.23. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($1.97) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 6.26 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. This represents a 2.23 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Friday, October 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.58, for a total transaction of $5,443,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 821,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $59,633,905.40. The trade was a 8.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock worth $7,768,381. Insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $109,602,000 after buying an additional 1,029,658 shares during the last quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 75.2% in the 3rd quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares during the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after purchasing an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Holocene Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 25.7% during the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares during the period. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP grew its holdings in Western Digital by 304.9% during the 2nd 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. 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.