Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Trading 1.1% Higher

Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) were up 1.1% during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $50.30 and last traded at $50.15. Approximately 323,535 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 92% from the average daily volume of 3,876,826 shares. The stock had previously closed at $49.58.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have commented on the company. Bank of America upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, May 30th. Morgan Stanley lowered shares of Pure Storage from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $60.00 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $59.00 target price (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Monday, August 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $66.95.

Pure Storage Stock Up 0.3 %

The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 1.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $56.95 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.18. The company has a market cap of $16.17 billion, a PE ratio of 179.11, a P/E/G ratio of 7.49 and a beta of 1.11.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In related news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.76, for a total transaction of $6,176,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 700,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $43,232,000. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other Pure Storage news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.76, for a total transaction of $6,176,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 700,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $43,232,000. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 9,881 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $59.32, for a total transaction of $586,140.92. Following the sale, the executive now owns 115,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,857,451.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 324,177 shares of company stock valued at $18,863,083. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 1.6% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,789,480 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,652,735,000 after acquiring an additional 495,183 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Pure Storage by 4.2% in the 4th quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 4,028,716 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $143,664,000 after purchasing an additional 160,877 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 56.1% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 3,696,390 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $237,345,000 after purchasing an additional 1,327,873 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth approximately $115,452,000. Finally, Blair William & Co. IL raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.7% in the 2nd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,357,962 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $151,405,000 after buying an additional 15,747 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.