Needham & Company Remains Bullish on Western Digital (WDC) Following CFO Transition and 4Q Preannouncement

Needham & Company reiterated a Strong Buy rating and $67.00 price target on Western Digital Corp. (NASDAQ: WDC) following the company's positive preannouncement and CFO transition. Executive Mark Long, in addition to his current role as Chief Strategy Officer, will oversee the finance organization as EVP, Finance and as of September 1, 2016 he will succeed Mr. Leonetti as CFO. WDC also preannounced 4Q revenue of $3.46B vs. previous revenue guidance for $3.35-3.45B, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.72 vs. original guidance for $0.65-0.70.

Analyst Richard Kugele commented, "We view WDC’s CFO transition as a clear indication of the strategic imperative the SanDisk (and HGST) transactions represent for the company. Operationally, we believe that WDC seeks to combine the strategic and finance roles more clearly. Newly designated CFO Mark Long is one of the key players within WDC who has executed on both of these transactions, making him an obvious choice for this newly-defined CFO role. Finally, with the positive pre, any concerns investors might have about such a change post-quarter should be assuaged. We reiterate our Strong Buy."

For an analyst ratings summary and ratings history on Western Digital Corp. click here. For more ratings news on Western Digital Corp. click here.

Shares of Western Digital Corp. closed at $45.46 yesterday.

You May Also Be Interested In

• Needham Upgrades Dynatrace Inc. (DT) to Buy
• RBC Capital Reiterates Sector Perform Rating on Freehold Royalties Ltd. (FRU:CN) (FRHLF)
• QQQ crosses 50-day average for 13th time since early August