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

Key Points

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Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its target price boosted by Benchmark from $58.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Benchmark's price target would suggest a potential upside of 9.98% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on WDC. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on Western Digital from $58.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Wedbush increased their price target on shares of Western Digital from $78.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho lowered their price objective on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Western Digital from $80.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on Western Digital from $53.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $78.74.

Western Digital Stock Up 1.0%

WDC traded up $0.74 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $77.29. 5,096,443 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,580,394. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.47, a current ratio of 1.08 and a quick ratio of 0.84. The company has a market cap of $26.96 billion, a PE ratio of 15.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.98 and a beta of 1.58. Western Digital has a one year low of $28.83 and a one year high of $78.80. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $62.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $53.84.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.48 by $0.18. Western Digital had a return on equity of 24.93% and a net margin of 14.13%. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.44 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Western Digital declared that its board has initiated a share repurchase plan on Tuesday, May 13th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the data storage provider to repurchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's management believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $54.88, for a total transaction of $94,887.52. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total transaction of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 in the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas increased its stake in Western Digital by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas now owns 26,415 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,575,000 after purchasing an additional 166 shares in the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% during the second quarter. CVA Family Office LLC now owns 904 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 173 shares during the period. Forum Financial Management LP lifted its position in Western Digital by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 5,895 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $377,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. UMB Bank n.a. boosted its stake in Western Digital by 6.2% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 3,465 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $222,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares during the period. Finally, Private Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 102.5% during the 2nd quarter. Private Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 399 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 202 shares in the last quarter. 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.