Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ Takes Position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm bought 67,700 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,347,000.

Several other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,666,000 after acquiring an additional 28,086 shares in the last quarter. State of Alaska Department of Revenue acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at $1,675,000. Texas Permanent School Fund Corp bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the first quarter worth approximately $13,514,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 284.9% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 55,801 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 41,305 shares during the period. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at $709,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Trading Up 1.9 %

PSTG opened at $50.72 on Monday. Pure Storage, Inc. has a one year low of $31.00 and a one year high of $70.41. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $55.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $57.02. The stock has a market cap of $16.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 181.14, a P/E/G ratio of 7.69 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 1.99.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $763.77 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $756.59 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 17.41%. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 14,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.79, for a total value of $911,941.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 518,623 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $33,082,961.17. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 9,881 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $59.32, for a total transaction of $586,140.92. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 115,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,857,451.32. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 14,296 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, July 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $63.79, for a total value of $911,941.84. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 518,623 shares in the company, valued at approximately $33,082,961.17. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 324,177 shares of company stock valued at $18,863,083 in the last quarter. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSTG has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Susquehanna reissued a “positive” rating and set a $80.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Monday, August 26th. Needham & Company LLC cut their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $80.00 to $62.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Morgan Stanley downgraded shares of Pure Storage from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Lake Street Capital decreased their target price on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $68.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $66.95.

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.