JPMorgan Chase & Co. Cuts Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Price Target to $105.00

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) had its price objective lowered by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $110.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the technology company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 49.49% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America increased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $76.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Susquehanna set a $105.00 price objective on Pure Storage in a research note on Wednesday. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Northland Securities set a $77.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday. Thirteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.37.

Pure Storage Stock Down 25.8%

Shares of PSTG traded down $24.48 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $70.24. 9,528,862 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,960,681. The company has a market cap of $23.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 171.00, a P/E/G ratio of 8.30 and a beta of 1.27. Pure Storage has a fifty-two week low of $34.51 and a fifty-two week high of $100.59. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $89.22 and its 200 day moving average is $71.31.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The technology company reported $0.44 earnings per share for the quarter. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The firm had revenue of $763.77 million for the quarter. Analysts anticipate that Pure Storage will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 7,014 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, September 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $85.85, for a total value of $602,151.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 229,307 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $19,686,005.95. This represents a 2.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,051 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.42, for a total transaction of $528,978.42. Following the transaction, the executive owned 62,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,486,391.78. This represents a 8.79% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders sold 330,311 shares of company stock worth $29,728,890. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. IFP Advisors Inc lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 5.3% in the third quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 8,222 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $689,000 after purchasing an additional 416 shares during the last quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd increased its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 29.2% during the third quarter. Swiss Life Asset Management Ltd now owns 36,501 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,059,000 after buying an additional 8,260 shares during the period. CIBC Bancorp USA Inc. purchased a new position in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $933,000. Caerus Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage during the third quarter valued at approximately $220,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 287.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 244 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by 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.