Wedbush Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock

Key Points

• Wedbush has raised their price target for Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) from $78.00 to $90.00, indicating a potential upside of 20.12% from the previous close.
• The company recently reported earnings of $1.66 EPS, which exceeded analysts' expectations of $1.48, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 30.0%.
• Western Digital has initiated a $2.00 billion stock buyback program, suggesting that management believes its shares are undervalued.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price objective increased by analysts at Wedbush from $78.00 to $90.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Wedbush's price target points to a potential upside of 20.12% from the company's previous close.

Several other analysts also recently commented on WDC. Wall Street Zen started coverage on Western Digital in a research note on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They set a "neutral" rating and a $70.00 target price on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on shares of Western Digital from $65.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Mizuho lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $72.11.

Western Digital Stock Up 4.9%

WDC stock opened at $74.92 on Thursday. 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 market cap of $26.14 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.16 and a beta of 1.54. The company's 50-day moving average price is $61.11 and its 200 day moving average price is $53.69. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $76.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The company had revenue of $2.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 13.33% and a return on equity of 20.58%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.44 earnings per share. On average, research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital announced that its board has initiated a stock buyback program 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 buy up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's management believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Private Wealth Management Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 102.5% during the second quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the 4th quarter valued at about $40,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC raised its position in Western Digital by 178.3% in the 2nd quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 668 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 428 shares during the period. Zions Bancorporation National Association UT purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Allworth Financial LP increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 34.1% during the first quarter. Allworth Financial LP now owns 955 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the period. 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.

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