UBS Group Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX) Stock

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities research analysts at UBS Group from $85.00 to $155.00 in a research note issued to investors on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the data storage provider's stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 4.01% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Seagate Technology in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $170.00 price objective for the company. Barclays lifted their price objective on Seagate Technology from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Cantor Fitzgerald lifted their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $110.00 to $125.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, May 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on shares of Seagate Technology from $145.00 to $165.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, July 14th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $140.00 price objective on shares of Seagate Technology in a report on Wednesday, May 21st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Seagate Technology has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $133.68.

Seagate Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ STX traded down $0.06 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $149.02. 238,082 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,953,623. The company has a market cap of $31.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.53 and a beta of 1.45. Seagate Technology has a 52 week low of $63.19 and a 52 week high of $152.15. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $129.38 and its 200-day simple moving average is $103.60.

Seagate Technology (NASDAQ:STX - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.90 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.14 billion. Seagate Technology had a negative return on equity of 105.02% and a net margin of 17.49%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 30.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.33 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Seagate Technology will post 6.83 earnings per share for the current year.

Seagate Technology declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase program on Thursday, May 22nd that allows the company to repurchase $5.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 21.6% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William D. Mosley sold 70,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $109.47, for a total transaction of $7,662,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 485,677 shares in the company, valued at $53,167,061.19. This trade represents a 12.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Ban Seng Teh sold 63,418 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $125.00, for a total value of $7,927,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president owned 14,658 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,832,250. The trade was a 81.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 395,516 shares of company stock valued at $47,831,398. 0.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Seagate Technology

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new position in Seagate Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Seagate Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Fourth Dimension Wealth LLC acquired a new position in Seagate Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Wayfinding Financial LLC acquired a new position in Seagate Technology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC increased its position in Seagate Technology by 28.1% during the 2nd quarter. Bruce G. Allen Investments LLC now owns 419 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $60,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.87% of the company's stock.

About Seagate Technology

Seagate Technology Holdings plc provides data storage technology and solutions in Singapore, the United States, the Netherlands, and internationally. It provides mass capacity storage products, including enterprise nearline hard disk drives (HDDs), enterprise nearline solid state drives (SSDs), enterprise nearline systems, video and image HDDs, and network-attached storage drives.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.