Citigroup Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $78.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by analysts at Citigroup from $62.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Citigroup's target price indicates a potential upside of 17.52% from the stock's previous close.

WDC has been the topic of several other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price target for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. Rosenblatt Securities decreased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. They issued a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 price target on the stock. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, TD Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $64.11.

Western Digital Stock Performance

NASDAQ:WDC traded up $1.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $66.37. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,802,019 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,593,928. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $80.20. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $55.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $53.12. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. The stock has a market cap of $23.16 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.56 and a beta of 1.54.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.70 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.63 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its board has approved a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to purchase up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are often a sign that the company's board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BNP Paribas lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 6.2% during the second quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $222,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 5.7% during the fourth quarter. IHT Wealth Management LLC now owns 3,817 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $228,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 1,385 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 229 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL lifted its holdings in Western Digital by 1.2% during the fourth quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 19,124 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,140,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is 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.

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