Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Up 1.9%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)’s share price traded up 1.9% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $53.36 and last traded at $53.31. 3,654,101 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 30% from the average session volume of 2,804,948 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.30.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSTG has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America boosted their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.53.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $17.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 313.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $49.58 and its 200 day moving average is $40.92.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.31 million. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 2.17%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,389,852.36. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the sale, the director now owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,015,150.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PSTG. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 0.4% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,073 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after acquiring an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Cetera Advisor Networks LLC now owns 25,839 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 264 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV increased its stake in Pure Storage by 2.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 13,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $474,000 after purchasing an additional 356 shares in the last quarter. LPL Financial LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 0.3% in the second quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 120,438 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,096,000 after purchasing an additional 357 shares during the period. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 2.2% during the 4th quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 17,066 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $457,000 after acquiring an additional 368 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pure Storage Company Profile

Pure Storage, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides data storage technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.