Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Price Up 1.9%

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently commented on PSTG shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $66.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

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 firm has a 50-day moving average of $49.93 and a 200-day moving average of $41.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 304.90, a P/E/G ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total transaction of $1,526,815.62. Following the completion of the sale, the executive now directly owns 138,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,200,794.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. 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 stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total value of $1,526,815.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 138,105 shares in the company, valued at $7,200,794.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 271,295 shares of company stock valued at $14,459,604 in the last ninety days. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage in the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pure Storage

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.