J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG Reduces Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Key Points

• J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG reduced its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. by 31.6%, now holding 34,701 shares valued at $1,536,000.
• After recently selling shares, insider executives have decreased their positions, with a notable transaction involving a sale of 22,601 shares for over $1.25 million.
• Pure Storage's stock has seen recent downgrades from analysts, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.95.

J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG decreased its holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 31.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 34,701 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 16,014 shares during the quarter. J. Safra Sarasin Holding AG's holdings in Pure Storage were worth $1,536,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB increased its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 233 shares in the last quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC grew its position in shares of 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 period. TruNorth Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 1st quarter worth about $38,000. Finally, Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 35.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSTG has been the subject of several analyst reports. Wedbush restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $70.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Friday, June 20th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 16th. Barclays cut their price target on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.95.

Pure Storage Stock Up 1.4%

NYSE PSTG traded up $0.83 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $58.64. 1,198,609 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,726,038. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.51 and a 12-month high of $73.67. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $55.62 and a 200 day moving average of $54.50. The company has a market cap of $19.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 158.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.46 and a beta of 1.07.

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

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.