Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Price Up 0.9%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) rose 0.9% on Friday . The company traded as high as $53.15 and last traded at $52.69. Approximately 639,800 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 86% from the average daily volume of 4,513,207 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.22.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have commented on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America upped their target price on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Susquehanna lifted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $17.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 309.96, a P/E/G ratio of 6.58 and a beta of 1.15. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $50.66 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $41.63. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.80.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted 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. The company had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.31 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.27 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pure Storage news, 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 transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage 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 sale, the insider now owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704. 6.50% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of PSTG. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 19.7% in the third quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,256 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 76,421 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 11.4% during the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 687,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,492,000 after buying an additional 70,620 shares during the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter worth $433,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth about $514,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Pure Storage by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 533,530 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $19,026,000 after acquiring an additional 62,274 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

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.