Allianz Asset Management GmbH Reduces Stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Key Points

• Allianz Asset Management GmbH has significantly reduced its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. by 76.2%, selling over 167,000 shares, which leaves it with about 52,308 shares valued at approximately $2.32 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Bank Pictet & Cie and LPL Financial, have increased their positions in Pure Storage recently, reflecting strong institutional interest as they collectively own over 83% of the company’s stock.
• Analysts have set varied price targets for Pure Storage, with JP Morgan reducing theirs from $75.00 to $70.00 while others, like Citigroup, increased theirs to $65.00, leading to a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $69.95.

Allianz Asset Management GmbH lowered its stake in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 76.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 52,308 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 167,341 shares during the quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Pure Storage were worth $2,316,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $592,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its position in Pure Storage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,775 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $355,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC lifted its position in Pure Storage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 157 shares during the period. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Pure Storage by 35.6% in the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 910 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after buying an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director John Francis Murphy sold 6,959 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.17, for a total transaction of $390,887.03. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,706 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,106,886.02. This represents a 26.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 198,749 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total value of $11,988,539.68. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,160,000. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 547,666 shares of company stock worth $31,887,830 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Pure Storage Price Performance

PSTG stock traded up $1.26 during trading on Monday, hitting $55.77. 888,458 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,752,739. The company has a market cap of $18.23 billion, a PE ratio of 150.75, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.07. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 1 year low of $34.51 and a 1 year high of $73.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.55 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.54.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 3.93%. The company had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.03 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSTG has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup increased their price target on Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.95.

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.