Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Given New $85.00 Price Target at Bank of America

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its target price lifted by Bank of America from $75.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the data storage provider’s stock. Bank of America‘s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 20.96% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on shares of Western Digital from $72.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $45.00 to $65.00 in a research note on Tuesday, January 16th. Barclays raised their price objective on Western Digital from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Western Digital from $52.00 to $73.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, January 22nd. Finally, Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Western Digital from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $72.61.

Western Digital Trading Down 1.1 %

Shares of NASDAQ:WDC traded down $0.79 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $70.27. The stock had a trading volume of 3,846,267 shares, compared to its average volume of 6,975,997. The firm has a market cap of $22.90 billion, a PE ratio of -9.86 and a beta of 1.57. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $63.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $53.77. The company has a current ratio of 1.67, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. Western Digital has a twelve month low of $31.97 and a twelve month high of $76.92.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported ($0.69) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($1.30) by $0.61. Western Digital had a negative net margin of 19.90% and a negative return on equity of 19.45%. The business had revenue of $3.03 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted ($0.69) earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts predict that Western Digital will post -2.31 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other Western Digital news, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total transaction of $185,227.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 20,509 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,434,604.55. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 443 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $75.00, for a total transaction of $33,225.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 30,958 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,321,850. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Kimberly Alexy sold 2,648 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.95, for a total value of $185,227.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 20,509 shares in the company, valued at $1,434,604.55. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.25% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Western Digital

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbour Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Western Digital in the 1st quarter worth approximately $299,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth $36,000. Sound Income Strategies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 11.8% in the first quarter. Sound Income Strategies LLC now owns 71,252 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $4,862,000 after purchasing an additional 7,501 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital in the first quarter worth $437,000. Finally, SOA Wealth Advisors LLC. bought a new stake in Western Digital during the first quarter valued at $31,000. 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.