Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Trading 1.9% Higher

Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) shot up 1.9% on Thursday . The company traded as high as $64.03 and last traded at $63.92. 398,321 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 91% from the average session volume of 4,289,113 shares. The stock had previously closed at $62.71.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on PSTG shares. Lake Street Capital boosted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. StockNews.com upgraded Pure Storage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Pure Storage from $46.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Friday, June 21st. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $68.95.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $59.70 and a two-hundred day moving average of $49.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market cap of $20.88 billion, a PE ratio of 229.29, a PEG ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.06.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $693.48 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $681.37 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 15.34%. Equities analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the business’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 transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 291,399 shares of company stock valued at $15,578,814 in the last three months. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Pure Storage by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,073 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,928,000 after purchasing an additional 242 shares in the last quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $61,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares in the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 6.8% in the first quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $330,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares in the last quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its position in Pure Storage by 295.6% during 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. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in Pure Storage during the first quarter valued at about $25,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.