The Goldman Sachs Group Boosts Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $76.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) had its target price increased by The Goldman Sachs Group from $58.00 to $76.00 in a report published on Friday, Benzinga reports. The Goldman Sachs Group currently has a neutral rating on the data storage provider's stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WDC. Mizuho lifted their price target on Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and lifted their price target for the company from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Western Digital from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Raymond James lifted their price target on Western Digital from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Western Digital from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $69.78.

Western Digital Trading Down 2.5 %

WDC traded down $1.84 during trading on Friday, reaching $72.06. The company had a trading volume of 5,322,010 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,076,686. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $62.28 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.10. The company has a market cap of $23.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.11 and a beta of 1.57. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $31.97 and a 12-month high of $76.92. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a current ratio of 1.67.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 19.45% and a negative net margin of 19.90%. The company had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $3 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted ($0.69) EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post -2.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,321,850. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Rise Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $25,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $31,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 337 shares during the period. Finally, Janiczek Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the third quarter valued at $28,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.