Mizuho Has Lowered Expectations for Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Stock Price

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price objective reduced by Mizuho from $90.00 to $82.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Benchmark downgraded shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $70.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. BNP Paribas reduced their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $90.00 in a report on Thursday, October 24th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on shares of Western Digital from $95.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, September 13th. Barclays raised their price target on shares of Western Digital from $80.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup decreased their price objective on Western Digital from $87.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, December 3rd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $85.95.

Western Digital Price Performance

Western Digital stock opened at $64.07 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $66.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $67.10. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.69 and a beta of 1.42. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.49, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a current ratio of 1.47. Western Digital has a 52-week low of $48.96 and a 52-week high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 24th. The data storage provider reported $1.78 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.55 by $0.23. Western Digital had a return on equity of 8.57% and a net margin of 4.81%. The business had revenue of $4.10 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned ($1.97) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 48.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Western Digital will post 6.56 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Western Digital news, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 30,767 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $68.01, for a total transaction of $2,092,463.67. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 135,398 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,208,417.98. This represents a 18.52 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Gene M. Zamiska sold 658 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.99, for a total transaction of $46,053.42. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 28,863 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,020,121.37. The trade was a 2.23 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 109,107 shares of company stock valued at $7,768,381. Company insiders own 0.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. AGF Management Ltd. grew its holdings in Western Digital by 28,925.8% during the 2nd quarter. AGF Management Ltd. now owns 2,202,190 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $166,860,000 after buying an additional 2,194,603 shares in the last quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Western Digital by 247.0% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 1,446,509 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $109,602,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029,658 shares during the period. Sachem Head Capital Management LP grew its stake in Western Digital by 75.2% during the third quarter. Sachem Head Capital Management LP now owns 2,030,000 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $138,629,000 after acquiring an additional 871,500 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its holdings in Western Digital by 24.6% during the 3rd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,711,428 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $253,453,000 after acquiring an additional 732,344 shares during the period. Finally, Holocene Advisors LP lifted its stake in Western Digital by 25.7% in the 3rd quarter. Holocene Advisors LP now owns 3,192,762 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $218,034,000 after purchasing an additional 651,847 shares in the last quarter. 92.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.