Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Raised to $150.00

Key Points

• Loop Capital has raised its price target for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) from $92.00 to $150.00, indicating a potential upside of 17.98% from the current stock price and maintaining a "buy" rating.
• Other analysts have also increased their ratings, with Zacks upgrading to "strong-buy" and Goldman Sachs raising its target to $130.00, while the consensus target price is now $103.65.
• Western Digital's recent stock performance saw a rise, reaching $127.14 per share with significant trading volume, supported by strong earnings and institutional investments, including a notable stake acquired by Norges Bank.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by equities research analysts at Loop Capital from $92.00 to $150.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Loop Capital's price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.98% from the stock's current price.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein upgraded Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on Western Digital from $87.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, September 19th. Zacks Research upgraded Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Western Digital from $78.00 to $130.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $103.65.

Western Digital Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ WDC traded up $6.70 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $127.14. The stock had a trading volume of 8,558,122 shares, compared to its average volume of 8,191,525. 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 business's fifty day moving average is $97.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $68.48. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $28.83 and a twelve month high of $137.40. The company has a market cap of $43.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 24.76, a PEG ratio of 0.95 and a beta of 1.77.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $220,680,000. Soroban Capital Partners LP boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,910,062 shares during the period. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 2,842,822 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG boosted its stake 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 acquiring an additional 1,742,481 shares during the period. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board bought a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter valued at $50,897,000. 92.51% of the stock is currently 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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