Barclays Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $80.00

Key Points

• Barclays increased its price target for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from $50.00 to $80.00, maintaining an "overweight" rating.
• Western Digital recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.66 EPS, exceeding estimates and showcasing a 30% year-over-year revenue growth.
• The company has initiated a $2.00 billion share buyback plan to repurchase up to 11.7% of its outstanding shares, indicating management's confidence in the stock's value.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Barclays from $50.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "overweight" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Barclays's price target suggests a potential upside of 6.72% from the company's previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Wells Fargo & Company restated an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday. Wedbush upped their price objective on Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley reduced their price objective on Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Summit Insights upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $77.74.

Western Digital Trading Down 4.7%

WDC stock traded down $3.73 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $74.96. 908,682 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 8,025,644. The stock has a market capitalization of $26.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.52 and a beta of 1.54. Western Digital has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $78.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a current ratio of 1.56. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $61.69 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $53.81.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 22.13%. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.45 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.44 EPS. Western Digital's quarterly revenue was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that authorizes the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are usually a sign that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. BNP Paribas grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. CVA Family Office LLC grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% during the 2nd quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 904 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $58,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 3.4% during the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,895 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $222,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 102.5% in the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.