Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given "Hold (C)" Rating at Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Western Digital's stock has been given a "hold (C)" rating by Weiss Ratings, despite other analysts boosting their price targets significantly, with Mizuho raising it as high as $160.00.
• The company recently traded at $129.43, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a market cap of $44.37 billion.
• Institutional investors are heavily involved, with 92.51% of the company's stock owned by such entities, and notable transactions have occurred, including significant purchases by Norges Bank and Soroban Capital Partners.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "hold (c)" rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on the company. Mizuho lifted their target price on Western Digital from $120.00 to $160.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 17th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $95.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, October 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 16th. UBS Group lifted their target price on Western Digital from $85.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Western Digital from $92.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 3rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $109.84.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of WDC stock traded up $3.71 on Friday, reaching $129.43. The stock had a trading volume of 6,539,846 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,197,439. The stock has a market cap of $44.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 25.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a current ratio of 1.08. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $103.07 and a 200 day simple moving average of $72.08. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $137.40.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Monday, April 7th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter. The company had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. Equities research analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total transaction of $654,333.90. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. This trade represents a 1.43% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Cynthia L. Tregillis sold 14,067 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $74.78, for a total value of $1,051,930.26. Following the sale, the insider owned 135,351 shares in the company, valued at $10,121,547.78. This trade represents a 9.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WDC. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Western Digital in the 2nd quarter worth about $220,680,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 1,926.3% during the 2nd quarter. Soroban Capital Partners LP now owns 3,061,134 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $195,882,000 after purchasing an additional 2,910,062 shares during the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% during the 1st quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $203,337,000 after purchasing an additional 2,842,822 shares during the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 107.1% during the 1st quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 3,369,331 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $136,222,000 after purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board acquired a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,897,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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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