Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Up 4.8% – Time to Buy?

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) shares traded up 4.8% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $82.68 and last traded at $82.18. 4,255,429 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 47% from the average session volume of 2,889,584 shares. The stock had previously closed at $78.38.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSTG has been the topic of a number of research reports. Guggenheim increased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Pure Storage from $72.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, November 17th. Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 28th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $92.61.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The firm has a market cap of $28.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 209.74, a PEG ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $89.06 and a 200 day moving average price of $70.23.

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. The firm had revenue of $763.77 million during the quarter. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 11.34% and a net margin of 4.15%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,051 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.42, for a total value of $528,978.42. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 62,759 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,486,391.78. The trade was a 8.79% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 17,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $76.51, for a total transaction of $1,338,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 138,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,627,162.49. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 347,811 shares of company stock valued at $31,067,815. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in PSTG. LPL Financial LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 22.6% during the 1st quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 118,368 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,240,000 after purchasing an additional 21,812 shares during the period. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 13.4% in the first quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 275,796 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $12,209,000 after purchasing an additional 32,611 shares during the period. Crumly & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the second quarter valued at $242,000. Michael S. Ryan Inc. acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the second quarter valued at $254,000. Finally, Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage during the second quarter worth about $359,000. 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.