Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report)'s stock price rose 0.4% on Friday . The company traded as high as $52.86 and last traded at $51.64. Approximately 433,416 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 90% from the average daily volume of 4,407,839 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.43.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PSTG shares. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James lowered shares of Pure Storage from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $52.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. StockNews.com downgraded Pure Storage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $51.67 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $42.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.97 billion, a PE ratio of 307.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.51 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The business had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.31 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The company's revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 380,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704 over the last quarter. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 19.7% during the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,256 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $16,537,000 after buying an additional 76,421 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 11.4% in the third quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 687,600 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $24,492,000 after acquiring an additional 70,620 shares during the period. Weil Company Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter worth about $433,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth about $514,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in Pure Storage by 13.2% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 533,530 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $19,026,000 after purchasing an additional 62,274 shares during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.

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