Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 1,725.3% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 2,525,208 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,386,864 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned 0.77% of Pure Storage worth $155,124,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its stake in Pure Storage by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 644 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 212 shares during the period. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $1,229,875.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 262,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,142,827.52. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 8,895 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.11, for a total value of $570,258.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 72,927 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,675,349.97. This represents a 10.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Lake Street Capital lifted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, StockNews.com cut shares of Pure Storage from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.20.

Pure Storage Trading Up 5.0 %

Shares of PSTG opened at $50.99 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.63 billion, a P/E ratio of 134.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12-month low of $44.76 and a 12-month high of $73.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $62.86 and its 200 day moving average price is $57.34.

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.