Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Trading Down 0.3%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)’s share price fell 0.3% on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $62.57 and last traded at $62.76. 369,165 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,302,925 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.92.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently weighed in on PSTG. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $72.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Friday, June 21st. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Tuesday, May 28th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $64.00 to $79.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut shares of Pure Storage from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 target price for the company. in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pure Storage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.95.

Pure Storage Trading Up 4.0 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $21.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 232.89, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.32 and a beta of 1.06. The business’s 50-day moving average is $59.40 and its 200 day moving average is $49.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 1.96.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The technology company reported ($0.02) EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The business had revenue of $693.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $681.37 million. As a group, analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pure Storage news, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.78, for a total value of $312,110.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,560.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Pure Storage news, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.78, for a total value of $312,110.04. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,560.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 291,399 shares of company stock valued at $15,578,814. 6.00% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 1.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,789,480 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,652,735,000 after purchasing an additional 495,183 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc boosted its position in Pure Storage by 33.8% during the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 4,068,672 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,926,000 after buying an additional 1,028,104 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Pure Storage by 4.2% during the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,028,716 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $143,664,000 after buying an additional 160,877 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $115,452,000. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Pure Storage by 83.9% during the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,068,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,754,000 after buying an additional 943,850 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.