Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Raised to $62.00

Key Points

• Western Digital's price target has been raised by Susquehanna from $40.00 to $62.00, indicating a potential downside of 17.33% from the current stock price.
• Wells Fargo reissued an "overweight" rating with a new target price of $95.00, while the consensus price target among analysts stands at $76.16.
• The company's stock buyback plan allows for repurchasing $2.00 billion worth of shares, typically indicating that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by investment analysts at Susquehanna from $40.00 to $62.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "neutral" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Susquehanna's price target would suggest a potential downside of 17.33% from the stock's current price.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on WDC. Wells Fargo & Company reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $95.00 target price (up from $80.00) on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday. Wall Street Zen started coverage on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. They set a "hold" rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Western Digital from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $57.00 in a research report on Thursday, May 1st. BNP Paribas reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Finally, Summit Insights raised shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Western Digital presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $76.16.

Western Digital Price Performance

WDC stock opened at $75.00 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $26.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.64 and a beta of 1.54. The company has a quick ratio of 1.31, a current ratio of 1.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $28.83 and a 12-month high of $78.80. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $61.69 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.81.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.66 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.48 by $0.18. The business had revenue of $2.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.45 billion. Western Digital had a net margin of 14.13% and a return on equity of 22.13%. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was up 30.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.44 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock buyback plan on Tuesday, May 13th that permits the company to buyback $2.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the data storage provider to buy up to 11.7% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally a sign that the company's leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This trade represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This represents a 4.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454 in the last three months. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Western Digital by 52.9% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 28,838 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,166,000 after buying an additional 9,974 shares during the period. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 5.1% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 144,307 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,834,000 after buying an additional 6,947 shares in the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 6.8% in the first quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 89,244 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $3,608,000 after buying an additional 5,711 shares in the last quarter. Polymer Capital Management US LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $5,711,000. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Western Digital by 1.6% during the first quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 242,349 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $9,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,920 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Western Digital Company Profile

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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