Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Western Digital Co. (NASDAQ:WDC) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-three research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eighteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $84.41.

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on WDC shares. Summit Insights lowered Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Barclays raised their price target on Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, April 22nd. Wedbush upped their price target on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $95.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Argus raised their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $68.00 to $88.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on shares of Western Digital from $83.00 to $86.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th.

Insider Transactions at Western Digital

In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total value of $693,871.86. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 128,413 shares in the company, valued at $7,331,098.17. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 416 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.88, for a total transaction of $29,902.08. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 30,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,179,473.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 39,642 shares of company stock worth $2,714,014 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,579,938 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,020,431,000 after buying an additional 215,207 shares during the period. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its position in shares of Western Digital by 2.7% during the second quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 7,857,586 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $595,369,000 after purchasing an additional 206,756 shares during the last quarter. Kodai Capital Management LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the fourth quarter valued at $212,900,000. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the fourth quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,096,993 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $162,190,000 after purchasing an additional 68,879 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new position in Western Digital in the 4th quarter worth about $150,958,000. Institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

Western Digital Price Performance

Shares of WDC opened at $59.68 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $72.88 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $68.32. Western Digital has a fifty-two week low of $35.62 and a fifty-two week high of $81.55. The stock has a market cap of $19.49 billion, a PE ratio of -12.01 and a beta of 1.37. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51, a quick ratio of 0.83 and a current ratio of 1.41.

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.