Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Trading Up 0.8%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) shares rose 0.8% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $53.97 and last traded at $53.61. Approximately 249,043 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 4,334,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.18.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on PSTG. StockNews.com lowered shares of Pure Storage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Susquehanna upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. KeyCorp boosted 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. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Up 0.5 %

The business’s fifty day moving average is $52.38 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.68. The stock has a market cap of $17.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 315.37, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last issued 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. The company had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $784.31 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the company’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 directly owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the executive now directly owns 138,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,200,794.70. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock valued at $15,266,704 in the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its position in shares of Pure Storage by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,073 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 53.3% in the first quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 6.8% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $330,000 after acquiring an additional 405 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 295.6% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at $25,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pure Storage Company Profile

Pure Storage, Inc engages in the provision of data storage and management technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. Its Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as always-on data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.