Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Trading 2.2% Higher

Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) traded up 2.2% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $51.87 and last traded at $51.61. 303,697 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average session volume of 4,585,479 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.51.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James downgraded shares of Pure Storage from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.80, a current ratio of 1.83 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $16.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.73 and a beta of 1.15. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $50.49 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.56.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.27 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at $20,389,852.36. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 507,824 shares in the company, valued at $26,813,107.20. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the sale, the insider now owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of PSTG. CWM LLC lifted its position in Pure Storage by 145.7% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 4,710 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $168,000 after purchasing an additional 2,793 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage during the third quarter valued at approximately $28,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Pure Storage by 135.6% during the third quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 31,936 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 18,378 shares during the last quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC lifted its position in Pure Storage by 55.8% during the third quarter. Exchange Traded Concepts LLC now owns 42,898 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,528,000 after purchasing an additional 15,357 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage during the third quarter valued at approximately $383,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.