Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $78.00 in a research note issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Morgan Stanley's price target suggests a potential upside of 31.56% from the company's current price.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. BNP Paribas reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, May 16th. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $76.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their target price on shares of Western Digital from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $63.79.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC traded up $0.10 on Tuesday, reaching $59.29. The company had a trading volume of 9,426,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,512,165. The company has a market capitalization of $20.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.23 and a beta of 1.49. 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 company has a fifty day moving average of $47.63 and a 200-day moving average of $53.44. Western Digital has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $80.38.

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has approved 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 typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 605,481 shares of the company's stock, 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. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Inspire Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 77.2% during the 1st quarter. Inspire Investing LLC now owns 7,662 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 3,338 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter worth approximately $7,641,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 229.7% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 1,388 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $56,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Bluefin Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter valued at approximately $649,000. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1,882.8% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 185,889 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $7,515,000 after buying an additional 176,514 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company's stock.

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.