State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Reduces Stock Position in Pure Storage, Inc. $PSTG

Key Points

• The State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D has reduced its holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (PSTG) by 8.4%, now owning 104,971 shares worth $4.65 million.
• Pure Storage reported a 12.3% year-over-year revenue increase of $778.49 million and earnings per share of $0.29, exceeding analyst expectations.
• Analysts have varying new price targets for PSTG, ranging from $57.00 to $70.00, with an average rating of "Moderate Buy."

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lessened its stake in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 8.4% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 104,971 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 9,655 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D's holdings in Pure Storage were worth $4,647,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of PSTG. Ethic Inc. grew its holdings in Pure Storage by 9.3% during the 1st quarter. Ethic Inc. now owns 17,112 shares of the technology company's stock worth $777,000 after acquiring an additional 1,456 shares during the period. Aberdeen Group plc increased its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 160.6% during the 1st quarter. Aberdeen Group plc now owns 230,470 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,203,000 after purchasing an additional 142,031 shares during the last quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP increased its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Liontrust Investment Partners LLP now owns 90,864 shares of the technology company's stock worth $4,023,000 after purchasing an additional 855 shares during the last quarter. Fox Run Management L.L.C. purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,561,000. Finally, Ground Swell Capital LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $242,000. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on PSTG. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pure Storage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Barclays cut 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 research report on Thursday, May 29th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Piper Sandler reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other news, insider John Colgrove sold 198,749 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $11,988,539.68. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,160,000. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 22,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the insider owned 261,465 shares in the company, valued at $14,498,234.25. The trade was a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 446,794 shares of company stock valued at $26,641,913 over the last three months. Insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Pure Storage Trading Up 4.6%

PSTG stock traded up $2.5580 on Friday, hitting $58.2880. The company had a trading volume of 1,724,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,946,799. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12-month low of $34.51 and a 12-month high of $73.67. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $56.48 and its 200 day simple moving average is $53.49. The stock has a market cap of $19.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 157.54, a P/E/G ratio of 5.53 and a beta of 1.07.

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 (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.03 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.32 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Pure Storage has set its Q2 2026 guidance at EPS. FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Research analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Pure Storage Company 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.