Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Trading 1.3% Higher – What’s Next?

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) was up 1.3% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $89.87 and last traded at $88.5810. Approximately 2,223,484 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 22% from the average daily volume of 2,864,458 shares. The stock had previously closed at $87.48.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on PSTG shares. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pure Storage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, August 30th. Raymond James Financial upped their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $88.00 to $99.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Pure Storage from $60.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Finally, Guggenheim boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $88.56.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.04 and a 200 day moving average price of $67.77. The company has a market cap of $29.11 billion, a PE ratio of 216.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, September 9th. The technology company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 11.34%. The business had revenue of $763.77 million during the quarter. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pure Storage news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, November 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.59, for a total transaction of $9,159,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 100,000 shares in the company, valued at $9,159,000. This trade represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 17,500 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.51, for a total transaction of $1,338,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 138,899 shares in the company, valued at $10,627,162.49. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 443,111 shares of company stock valued at $36,793,439 over the last quarter. Insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Left Brain Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the third quarter worth $629,000. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 40.8% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 485,459 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,686,000 after buying an additional 140,591 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co. bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $242,000. ARK Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 12.6% in the 3rd quarter. ARK Investment Management LLC now owns 347,093 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,090,000 after acquiring an additional 38,768 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 4.4% during the 3rd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 94,560 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,925,000 after acquiring an additional 4,000 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

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.