IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd Has $731,000 Stock Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Key Points

• IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd increased its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. by 78.4% in Q1, now owning 16,518 shares valued at $731,000.
• Insiders at Pure Storage have sold over 547,666 shares worth approximately $31.9 million in the last quarter, representing significant insider activity.
• Equities research analysts generally have a positive outlook on Pure Storage, with a majority giving a "Moderate Buy" consensus rating and a price target averaging $69.95.

IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 78.4% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 16,518 shares of the technology company's stock after buying an additional 7,258 shares during the period. IQ EQ FUND MANAGEMENT IRELAND Ltd's holdings in Pure Storage were worth $731,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 5.9% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 7,207,162 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $442,736,000 after acquiring an additional 401,035 shares during the period. Champlain Investment Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Pure Storage by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. Champlain Investment Partners LLC now owns 5,921,392 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $363,751,000 after buying an additional 174,449 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 18.8% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 4,162,081 shares of the technology company's stock worth $255,677,000 after buying an additional 657,175 shares during the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL boosted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 2.8% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 3,541,445 shares of the technology company's stock worth $156,780,000 after buying an additional 96,731 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First Trust Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 3.0% in the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,118,774 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $191,586,000 after purchasing an additional 91,368 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company's stock.

Pure Storage Trading Up 0.7%

NYSE PSTG traded up $0.41 on Thursday, hitting $57.84. 1,572,054 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,086,319. The company has a market capitalization of $18.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 156.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.62 and a 200 day moving average of $54.50. Pure Storage, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.51 and a twelve month high of $73.67.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results 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 net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.03 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider John Colgrove sold 198,749 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $11,988,539.68. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $309,900.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 75,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,923,592.25. This trade represents a 7.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 547,666 shares of company stock worth $31,887,830. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSTG has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective 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. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Friday, June 20th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus 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.