Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Position Increased by Equitable Trust Co.

Key Points

• Equitable Trust Co. increased its stake in Pure Storage by 38.2%, acquiring an additional 6,352 shares, bringing its total holdings to 22,998 shares valued at $1,018,000.
• Institutional investors now own 83.42% of Pure Storage's shares, with several firms, including Cetera Investment Advisers and AE Wealth Management, boosting their positions significantly in the first quarter.
• Research analyst ratings for Pure Storage are mixed, with one sell rating, six hold ratings, and fourteen buy ratings, leading to a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a target price of $69.95.

Equitable Trust Co. raised its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 38.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 22,998 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 6,352 shares during the period. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $1,018,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 55.9% in the first 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. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 5,233.3% in the first quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 800 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. TruNorth Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at approximately $38,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 35.6% in the first quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 910 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on PSTG shares. Barclays reduced their target price on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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. One equities research 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 company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.95.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director John Francis Murphy sold 6,959 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Friday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.17, for a total value of $390,887.03. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 19,706 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,106,886.02. The trade was a 26.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.01, for a total transaction of $5,201,000.00. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 801,959 shares in the company, valued at $41,709,887.59. This trade represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,666 shares of company stock valued at $7,819,260. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Pure Storage Price Performance

Shares of PSTG stock traded up $0.60 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $59.97. The stock had a trading volume of 555,954 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,754,478. Pure Storage, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $34.51 and a fifty-two week high of $73.67. The firm has a market cap of $19.60 billion, a PE ratio of 161.87, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.06. The company's 50-day simple moving average is $55.42 and its 200-day simple moving average is $54.74.

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. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The firm had revenue of $778.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

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.