Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Price Down 1.1%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)’s stock price dropped 1.1% during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as low as $51.88 and last traded at $51.99. Approximately 2,572,241 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 47% from the average daily volume of 4,813,754 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.55.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSTG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $42.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, November 30th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, February 29th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC assumed coverage on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, March 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $66.00 price objective on the stock. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.72.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $16.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 305.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.60 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $46.25 and a 200 day simple moving average of $39.20.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.31 million. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 2.17%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. ST Germain D J Co. Inc. acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $32,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.