Citigroup Cuts Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Price Target to $105.00

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $110.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $100.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday. Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $77.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer started coverage on Pure Storage in a research note on Monday, November 17th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $120.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Pure Storage from $110.00 to $105.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $95.26.

Pure Storage Stock Down 2.5%

PSTG stock opened at $70.37 on Wednesday. Pure Storage has a 52 week low of $34.51 and a 52 week high of $100.59. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $71.39. The company has a market cap of $23.13 billion, a PE ratio of 185.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 1.27.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The technology company reported $0.44 EPS for the quarter. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.74% and a return on equity of 10.60%. The firm had revenue of $763.77 million for the quarter. On average, analysts anticipate that Pure Storage will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other news, CAO Mona Chu sold 9,091 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $771,916.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 107,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,115,343.23. This trade represents a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.33, for a total transaction of $8,733,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider owned 300,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,199,000. This trade represents a 25.00% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 327,311 shares of company stock valued at $29,498,100. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Winnow Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Sunbelt Securities Inc. raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 287.1% during the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the last quarter. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Assetmark Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 186.6% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 341 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

About Pure Storage

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.