BNP Paribas Trims Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) Target Price to $90.00

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) had its price target cut by stock analysts at BNP Paribas from $95.00 to $90.00 in a research note issued on Thursday. BNP Paribas’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 35.42% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the company. Summit Insights lowered shares of Western Digital from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. Susquehanna lowered their price objective on shares of Western Digital from $88.00 to $75.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, August 2nd. Evercore ISI restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $85.00 target price on shares of Western Digital in a research report on Thursday, August 15th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Western Digital from $95.00 to $85.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, September 10th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Western Digital from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, July 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and seventeen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $83.95.

Western Digital Stock Down 0.2 %

WDC stock traded down $0.15 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $66.46. 4,054,173 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 6,100,786. The company has a current ratio of 1.32, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.53. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $65.26 and a 200-day moving average price of $69.75. The stock has a market capitalization of $22.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -36.52 and a beta of 1.39. Western Digital has a 12-month low of $35.62 and a 12-month high of $81.55.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The data storage provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $3.77 billion. Western Digital had a negative return on equity of 2.63% and a negative net margin of 3.75%. On average, analysts anticipate that Western Digital will post 7.75 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Western Digital

In other news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total transaction of $5,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 896,630 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, CEO David Goeckeler sold 75,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.32, for a total value of $5,274,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 896,630 shares in the company, valued at approximately $63,051,021.60. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Robert Soderbery sold 12,154 shares of Western Digital stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $57.09, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 92,955 shares of company stock valued at $6,327,560. 0.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WDC. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 1.3% in the second quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 15,962 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $1,209,000 after purchasing an additional 203 shares in the last quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake in Western Digital by 15.6% during the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 1,527 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $116,000 after purchasing an additional 206 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. boosted its holdings in Western Digital by 10.7% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 2,203 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $167,000 after purchasing an additional 213 shares in the last quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 2.3% in the 2nd quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 10,344 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $784,000 after purchasing an additional 236 shares during the period. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. grew its stake in shares of Western Digital by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 818 shares of the data storage provider’s stock valued at $62,000 after purchasing an additional 277 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.51% of the company’s stock.

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.