Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Price Target Raised to $88.00 at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup has raised its price target for Western Digital from $78.00 to $88.00, indicating a potential upside of 11.83% from its previous close.
• Western Digital's shares rose by 10.2% in midday trading, reaching $78.69 and showing significant trading volume compared to its average.
• The company's Board of Directors has authorized a $2.00 billion stock buyback program, suggesting a strong belief in the stock's undervaluation.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $78.00 to $88.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the data storage provider's stock. Citigroup's target price would indicate a potential upside of 11.83% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. Mizuho cut their price target on Western Digital from $82.00 to $68.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 10th. Susquehanna dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 11th. Morgan Stanley dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $83.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. TD Securities dropped their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $53.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Finally, Bank of America increased their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eighteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $75.00.

Western Digital Stock Up 10.2%

Shares of WDC stock traded up $7.26 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $78.69. 24,009,021 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 8,080,011. Western Digital has a 1 year low of $28.83 and a 1 year high of $78.80. The company's 50 day moving average is $61.11 and its two-hundred day moving average is $53.69. 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 firm has a market cap of $27.45 billion, a PE ratio of 14.90 and a beta of 1.54.

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

Western Digital declared that its Board of Directors has authorized 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 purchase up to 11.7% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are often an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief executive officer owned 605,481 shares in the company, valued at approximately $29,178,129.39. This represents a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the company's stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. The trade was a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 13,353 shares of company stock worth $657,454 over the last quarter. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 1.8% during the second quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 88,115 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $5,638,000 after acquiring an additional 1,530 shares during the last quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 29.9% during the second quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 16,322 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $1,044,000 after acquiring an additional 3,758 shares during the last quarter. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 46.4% during the second quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 12,256 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $784,000 after acquiring an additional 3,882 shares during the last quarter. CVA Family Office LLC boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 23.7% in 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 last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the second quarter worth approximately $618,000. 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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