Argus Raises Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target to $88.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) had its target price hoisted by Argus from $68.00 to $88.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the data storage provider's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WDC. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Friday. Mizuho increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $66.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 9th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 10th. Barclays upped their price objective on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded Western Digital from a neutral rating to a buy rating in a report on Friday, April 5th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and seventeen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $77.76.

Western Digital Price Performance

NASDAQ WDC traded down $1.50 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $69.86. The company's stock had a trading volume of 8,996,039 shares, compared to its average volume of 7,120,395. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.07 and a current ratio of 1.86. The company's 50-day moving average is $65.39 and its two-hundred day moving average is $55.26. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $32.01 and a fifty-two week high of $76.92. The stock has a market cap of $22.76 billion, a PE ratio of -14.06 and a beta of 1.56.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. The business had revenue of $3.46 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 12.87% and a negative return on equity of 13.75%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 23.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.57) earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total value of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Czech National Bank grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 47.6% in the 3rd quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 55,918 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $2,552,000 after acquiring an additional 18,044 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 137,097 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $6,256,000 after purchasing an additional 6,848 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 3rd quarter worth about $228,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 65,666 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,996,000 after buying an additional 3,100 shares during the period. Finally, Xponance Inc. grew its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 43,938 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $2,005,000 after buying an additional 1,112 shares during the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by 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.