Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Holdings Boosted by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Key Points

• Zurcher Kantonalbank increased its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. by 72.7%, owning 120,363 shares valued at approximately $5.33 million.
• Institutional investors currently own 83.42% of Pure Storage's stock, with multiple firms such as Geode Capital Management and Baird Financial Group significantly increasing their holdings.
• Wall Street analysts have generally positive sentiments, with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.95 for Pure Storage shares.

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank lifted its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 72.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 120,363 shares of the technology company's stock after acquiring an additional 50,651 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank's holdings in Pure Storage were worth $5,328,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. increased its stake in Pure Storage by 0.5% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,566,374 shares of the technology company's stock worth $157,652,000 after buying an additional 12,972 shares during the period. D.A. Davidson & CO. grew its position in Pure Storage by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,000 shares of the technology company's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its position in Pure Storage by 11.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,339 shares of the technology company's stock worth $236,000 after purchasing an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. grew its position in Pure Storage by 8.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in Pure Storage by 4.0% during 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 during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 price objective (up from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen downgraded shares of Pure Storage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, July 26th. Barclays lowered their price objective on shares of 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. One 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. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.95.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director John Francis Murphy sold 11,234 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $619,330.42. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 21,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,209,000.90. The trade was a 33.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 198,749 shares of the company'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 completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at $30,160,000. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 547,666 shares of company stock valued at $31,887,830. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Pure Storage Price Performance

PSTG traded down $0.32 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $55.93. 568,102 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,746,496. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.28 billion, a PE ratio of 151.06, a P/E/G ratio of 5.19 and a beta of 1.07. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 1-year low of $34.51 and a 1-year high of $73.67. The business's 50-day moving average price is $55.56 and its 200 day moving average price is $54.47.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 earnings per share (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 company had revenue of $778.49 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.32 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal 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.