Elliott wants flash memory spinoff

Article Excerpt

WESTERN DIGITAL CORP. $59 is a hold. The company (Nasdaq symbol WDC; Manufacturing sector; Shares outstanding: 313.2 million; Market cap: $18.5 billion; No dividend paid; Takeover Target Rating: Medium; www.westerndigital.com) develops, makes and sells hard-disk drives, which are mainly used in desktop computers, notebook computers, business applications and consumer electronics. Activist investor Elliott Management (which owns about $1 billion worth of Western Digital shares) now wants the company to spin off its NAND flash memory operations as a separate company. It acquired that business in 2016 when it paid $19 billion for SanDisk. Manufacturers of mobile phones, digital cameras and other devices use flash chips to retain information without power. The activist feels a spinoff would boost Western Digital’s stock to over $100 by the end of 2023. While the company said it “will carefully consider Elliott’s ideas,” a spinoff is far from certain. Meantime, the current computer chip shortage adds to Western Digital’s risk. Western Digital is a hold. hold…