Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Upgraded by Zacks Research to Strong-Buy Rating

Key Points

• Western Digital has been upgraded by Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating, signaling increased confidence in the stock's performance.
• The company has seen various analysts raise their price targets, with Mizuho increasing theirs from $87.00 to $120.00 and Bank of America from $123.00 to $141.00.
• Insider trading activity includes CEO Irving Tan selling 8,621 shares at an average price of $75.90, slightly decreasing his ownership stake.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein raised shares of Western Digital to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $87.00 to $120.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, September 19th. Bank of America increased their price objective on Western Digital from $123.00 to $141.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 24th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on Western Digital from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Friday, August 1st. Finally, UBS Group increased their price objective on Western Digital from $45.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Western Digital has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $98.84.

Western Digital Trading Down 4.8%

Shares of NASDAQ WDC opened at $113.13 on Monday. 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 stock has a market capitalization of $38.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 21.97, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.00 and a beta of 1.77. Western Digital has a 1-year low of $28.83 and a 1-year high of $137.40. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $96.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $68.12.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, CEO Irving Tan sold 8,621 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.90, for a total value of $654,333.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 594,836 shares in the company, valued at $45,148,052.40. The trade was a 1.43% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Vidyadhara K. Gubbi sold 11,343 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.29, for a total transaction of $1,024,159.47. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 151,596 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $13,687,602.84. This trade represents a 6.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 49,730 shares of company stock worth $3,921,594. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Western Digital

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of WDC. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the 2nd quarter valued at 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 in the last quarter. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. increased its position in shares of Western Digital by 130.0% in 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 buying an additional 2,842,822 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG increased 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 purchasing an additional 1,742,481 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board purchased a new position in shares of Western Digital during the 1st quarter worth approximately $50,897,000. 92.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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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