Swiss National Bank Reduces Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Swiss National Bank lessened its position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 9.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 584,100 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 58,100 shares during the quarter. Swiss National Bank owned approximately 0.18% of Pure Storage worth $20,829,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its holdings in Pure Storage by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,256 shares of the technology company's stock worth $16,537,000 after buying an additional 76,421 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Pure Storage by 11.4% during 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 purchasing an additional 70,620 shares during the period. Weil Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Pure Storage in the third quarter worth approximately $433,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter valued at $514,000. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its holdings in shares of 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 buying an additional 62,274 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In related news, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total value of $7,863,030.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,349,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Pure Storage news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 507,824 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,813,107.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total transaction of $7,863,030.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,349,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on PSTG shares. Raymond James downgraded Pure Storage from a "strong-buy" rating to an "outperform" rating and increased their target price for the company from $52.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday, April 19th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup started coverage on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Friday, March 15th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $65.00 price objective for the company. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Up 1.2 %

PSTG traded up $0.66 during trading on Thursday, hitting $54.11. The stock had a trading volume of 2,918,464 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,332,719. Pure Storage, Inc. has a twelve month low of $22.64 and a twelve month high of $58.46. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $52.64 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.83. The company has a market capitalization of $17.58 billion, a PE ratio of 318.29, a PEG ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.15.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.31 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.27 earnings per share. On average, research analysts predict 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.