Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Up 0.8%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) shares rose 0.8% on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $53.97 and last traded at $53.61. Approximately 249,043 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 94% from the average daily volume of 4,334,203 shares. The stock had previously closed at $53.18.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Raymond James downgraded Pure Storage from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $63.00 in a research note on Friday, April 19th. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Citigroup began coverage on Pure Storage in a report on Friday, March 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $52.38 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.68. The company has a market cap of $17.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 315.37, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.15.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.27 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Pure Storage news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Pure Storage news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 286,581 shares of company stock valued at $15,266,704 over the last three months. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Pure Storage by 295.6% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 473 shares during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.