Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Lowered to Sell at UBS Group

UBS Group downgraded shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) from a neutral rating to a sell rating in a research note published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. UBS Group currently has $47.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $44.00.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PSTG. Morgan Stanley lowered Pure Storage from an overweight rating to an equal weight rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Lake Street Capital raised their price objective on Pure Storage from $48.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Needham & Company LLC restated a buy rating and issued a $80.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Friday, June 21st. Northland Securities lowered Pure Storage from an outperform rating to a market perform rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $58.00 to $68.00 in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $69.11.

Pure Storage Price Performance

Pure Storage stock opened at $62.79 on Tuesday. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $60.21 and its 200 day moving average price is $50.39. Pure Storage has a 1 year low of $31.00 and a 1 year high of $70.41. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.42 billion, a P/E ratio of 224.25, a P/E/G ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.11. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a current ratio of 2.00.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of ($0.04) by $0.02. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The firm had revenue of $693.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $681.37 million. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pure Storage will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.78, for a total value of $312,110.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,560.44. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.78, for a total transaction of $312,110.04. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 35,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,299,560.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 507,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,813,107.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders 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 owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Sei Investments Co. grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 19.7% during the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 76,421 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.5% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,335 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,086 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $514,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 44.1% in the fourth quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,235 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 11.1% in the fourth quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 306,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,943,000 after purchasing an additional 30,642 shares in the last quarter. 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.