Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Earns "Overweight" Rating from Morgan Stanley

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "overweight" rating reissued by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $85.00 price target on the data storage provider's stock, up from their previous price target of $78.00. Morgan Stanley's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 26.28% from the company's previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Loop Capital reiterated a "buy" rating on shares of Western Digital in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Summit Insights upgraded shares of Western Digital from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 30th. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a report on Thursday, May 1st. Bank of America boosted their price target on Western Digital from $62.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Monday, June 9th. Finally, Susquehanna lowered their price target on Western Digital from $72.00 to $40.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. 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, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $65.26.

Western Digital Trading Up 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded up $0.78 on Monday, reaching $67.31. 1,230,782 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 6,600,520. The stock has a market capitalization of $23.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 12.74 and a beta of 1.54. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $57.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.26. The company has a current ratio of 1.56, a quick ratio of 1.31 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.95. Western Digital has a 52 week low of $28.83 and a 52 week high of $75.57.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The data storage provider reported $1.36 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.06 by $0.30. Western Digital had a return on equity of 20.58% and a net margin of 13.33%. The business had revenue of ($1,465.00) million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.70 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.63 EPS. Western Digital's revenue for the quarter was down 33.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

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

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, CEO Irving Tan sold 11,379 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.19, for a total value of $548,354.01. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 605,481 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,178,129.39. The trade was a 1.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 1,729 shares of the firm'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 value of $94,887.52. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 40,089 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,084.32. This trade represents a 4.13% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 13,353 shares of company stock valued at $657,454 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Western Digital by 1.1% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 42,938,495 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $1,736,003,000 after purchasing an additional 478,728 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Western Digital by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,745,264 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $520,450,000 after buying an additional 823,656 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $352,572,000. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% during the first quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. now owns 5,029,359 shares of the data storage provider's stock valued at $203,337,000 after acquiring an additional 2,842,822 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC raised its holdings in Western Digital by 23.7% in the 4th quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 4,592,516 shares of the data storage provider's stock worth $273,852,000 after acquiring an additional 881,088 shares during the last quarter. 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.