Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Raised to "Buy" at Benchmark

Benchmark upgraded shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Friday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. They currently have $85.00 price objective on the data storage provider's stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $73.00 to $83.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, April 18th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Western Digital from an outperform rating to a market perform rating in a report on Monday. UBS Group boosted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a report on Monday, April 15th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Digital from a hold rating to a buy rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a report on Tuesday, January 16th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and sixteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $77.25.

Western Digital Stock Performance

WDC stock traded up $1.92 during trading on Friday, hitting $71.36. 13,864,848 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,097,184. The company has a quick ratio of 0.98, a current ratio of 1.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $32.01 and a 52 week high of $76.92. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $65.08 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $54.96. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -10.01 and a beta of 1.57.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, April 25th. The data storage provider reported $0.63 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.21 by $0.42. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. The firm had revenue of $3.46 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($1.57) earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 23.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post -2.21 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company'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 $1,434,604.55. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,321,850. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.28% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Rise Advisors LLC bought a new position in Western Digital in the first quarter valued at about $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new position in Western Digital during the first quarter worth about $31,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 121.7% during the fourth quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 614 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 337 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Parkside Financial Bank & Trust boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 79.1% during the third quarter. Parkside Financial Bank & Trust now owns 747 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 330 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors 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.