Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Gets Price Target Boost from Bank of America

Key Points

• Bank of America raised Western Digital’s price target from $720 to $800 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 119.59% upside from the reported $364.32 share price.
• Analyst sentiment remains favorable, with 20 buy ratings and one strong-buy rating; the consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $609.56.
• Western Digital reported quarterly EPS of $3.56, topping estimates by $0.25, while revenue rose 43.8% year over year to $3.75 billion. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company, while insiders have sold shares in recent months.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Bank of America from $720.00 to $800.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Bank of America's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 119.59% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. BNP Paribas Exane lifted their price target on Western Digital from $660.00 to $700.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Susquehanna upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $360.00 to $500.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Cantor Fitzgerald increased their price objective on Western Digital from $660.00 to $900.00 in a report on Thursday, August 6th. Wedbush increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $540.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, July 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group dropped their price target on Western Digital from $650.00 to $615.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, twenty have assigned a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $609.56.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $364.32 on Wednesday. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $117.23 and a fifty-two week high of $799.87. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $439.65 and its 200 day simple moving average is $479.46. The stock has a market cap of $136.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.05, a PEG ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 2.11.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 5th. The data storage provider reported $3.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $3.31 by $0.25. Western Digital had a return on equity of 48.15% and a net margin of 72.95%. The company had revenue of $3.75 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3.70 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.66 earnings per share. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 43.8% on a year-over-year basis. Western Digital has set its Q1 2027 guidance at 3.850-4.150 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Western Digital will post 19.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 432 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $451.20, for a total transaction of $194,918.40. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 111,030 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,096,736. This represents a 0.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 1,795 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $459.87, for a total value of $825,466.65. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 80,571 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $37,052,185.77. This trade represents a 2.18% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 24,629 shares of company stock valued at $11,033,404. 0.20% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,602,927,000. Anther Capital Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $901,601,000. Deutsche Bank AG purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth $885,565,000. Value Aligned Research Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter valued at $350,403,000. Finally, Trivest Advisors Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter valued at $627,606,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

Western Digital Corporation NASDAQ: WDC is a data storage technology company that develops and manufactures hard disk drives (HDDs) and related storage solutions. Its products are used in data centers, cloud infrastructure, enterprise systems, personal computers, gaming platforms and external storage devices.

The company offers HDD-based products for business and consumer applications, including high-capacity drives designed for hyperscale and cloud data centers, enterprise storage environments, network-attached storage systems and personal computing.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.