Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) in a research note published on Wednesday morning. The firm issued a buy rating on the data storage provider’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on WDC. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 12th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $85.00 to $75.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday. Rosenblatt Securities reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $115.00 to $95.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their target price on shares of Western Digital from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Bank of America reduced their target price on shares of Western Digital from $89.00 to $80.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 16th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Western Digital currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.05.

Western Digital Trading Up 2.2 %

NASDAQ:WDC opened at $50.16 on Wednesday. Western Digital has a 12 month low of $39.58 and a 12 month high of $61.16. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $63.87 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.41. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.60. The company has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.94 and a beta of 1.44.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The data storage provider reported $1.55 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.91 by ($0.36). Western Digital had a return on equity of 15.68% and a net margin of 9.95%. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 4.89 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Western Digital

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio boosted its position in Western Digital by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio now owns 151,296 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $9,022,000 after acquiring an additional 2,053 shares during the last quarter. Elequin Capital LP acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $40,000. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC boosted its position in Western Digital by 23.7% during the fourth 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. Woodline Partners LP boosted its position in Western Digital by 158.6% during the fourth quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 100,610 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $5,999,000 after acquiring an additional 61,702 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sphera Management Technology Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Western Digital during the fourth quarter worth about $716,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.