Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Sold by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Key Points

• Pacer Advisors Inc. has reduced its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. by 88.1%, now holding just 7,597 shares after selling 56,369 shares, valued at approximately $336,000.
• In recent transactions, company insiders sold significant amounts of stock, with a total of 547,666 shares sold over the last 90 days, representing a combined value of nearly $31.9 million.
• Analysts have varied opinions on Pure Storage, with one firm downgrading the stock to a "hold" rating while others maintain "buy" ratings, reflecting a consensus average price target of $69.95.

Pacer Advisors Inc. reduced its position in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 88.1% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 7,597 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 56,369 shares during the quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $336,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $310,000 after buying an additional 500 shares in the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,339 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $236,000 after buying an additional 542 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 8.4% in the 1st quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,327 shares of the technology company's stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 570 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 4.0% in the 1st quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 121,895 shares of the technology company's stock worth $5,396,000 after purchasing an additional 4,687 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 9.6% in the 1st quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 7,042 shares of the technology company's stock worth $312,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $309,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 75,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,923,592.25. This represents a 7.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director John Francis Murphy sold 11,234 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total value of $619,330.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,930 shares in the company, valued at $1,209,000.90. The trade was a 33.87% 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. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Pure Storage stock traded down $4.98 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $54.54. The company's stock had a trading volume of 2,976,585 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,188,984. The company has a 50 day moving average of $55.55 and a 200-day moving average of $54.54. The stock has a market cap of $17.83 billion, a PE ratio of 147.41, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.07. Pure Storage, Inc. has a one year low of $34.51 and a one year high of $73.67.

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 company 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%. Pure Storage's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the company. 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. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Friday, June 20th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and issued a $66.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a 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 company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target 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.