Bayforest Capital Ltd Takes Position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Key Points

• Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired 5,821 shares of Pure Storage, Inc. for approximately $258,000, indicating growing interest among institutional investors in the technology sector.
• Standard financial ratings for Pure Storage include a "Moderate Buy" consensus with a price target of $69.95, reflecting a positive outlook despite varied ratings from different analysts.
• Insider selling activity has been noted, with significant transactions from executives, including John Colgrove, who sold 198,749 shares valued at nearly $12 million, constituting a sizeable decrease in their ownership stake.

Bayforest Capital Ltd bought a new stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 5,821 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $258,000.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. World Investment Advisors raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 1.6% in the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,635 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp lifted its stake 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 worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its position in Pure Storage by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pure Storage by 35.6% during the 1st quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 910 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 239 shares during the period. Finally, MBM Wealth Consultants LLC raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 2.3% during the 1st quarter. MBM Wealth Consultants LLC now owns 11,372 shares of the technology company's stock worth $503,000 after buying an additional 252 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Stock Up 2.6%

Shares of Pure Storage stock traded up $1.43 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $57.40. 1,807,593 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,744,331. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $55.57 and a 200 day moving average price of $54.48. Pure Storage, Inc. has a one year low of $34.51 and a one year high of $73.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $18.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.15, a P/E/G ratio of 5.35 and a beta of 1.07.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.03 million. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 3.93%. The business's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $309,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 75,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,923,592.25. This represents a 7.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 22,601 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total value of $1,253,225.45. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 261,465 shares of the company's stock, valued at $14,498,234.25. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 547,666 shares of company stock worth $31,887,830. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently commented on PSTG. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Friday, June 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.95.

Pure Storage 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.