Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Price Down 4.4% Following Insider Selling

Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) were down 4.4% on Friday following insider selling activity. The company traded as low as $49.33 and last traded at $49.52. Approximately 1,159,200 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 4,615,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.82.

Specifically, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the sale, 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 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704 over the last three months. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently commented on the company. Raymond James lowered Pure Storage from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $52.00 to $63.00 in a research report on Friday. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Susquehanna lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on Pure Storage in a research report on Friday, March 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The firm has a market cap of $16.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 290.96, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $50.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $41.17.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $31,000. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company's stock.

About Pure Storage

Pure Storage, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides data storage technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.