Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Upgraded at StockNews.com

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday.

PSTG has been the subject of several other research reports. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $66.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. KeyCorp increased their price target on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Pure Storage from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Price Performance

PSTG traded up $0.27 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $53.45. The company had a trading volume of 1,492,040 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,348,616. 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 $17.37 billion, a PE ratio of 314.41, a P/E/G ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.15. Pure Storage has a twelve month low of $22.57 and a twelve month high of $58.46. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $52.61 and its 200-day simple moving average is $42.76.

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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $784.31 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The company's quarterly revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Pure Storage will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total transaction of $1,526,815.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 138,105 shares in the company, valued at $7,200,794.70. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total value of $1,526,815.62. Following the sale, the executive now owns 138,105 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,200,794.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 owns 380,834 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock valued at $15,266,704. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 54,073 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,928,000 after buying an additional 242 shares during the last quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC boosted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 53.3% during the 1st quarter. DecisionPoint Financial LLC now owns 1,150 shares of the technology company's stock worth $61,000 after buying an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 6.8% in the 1st quarter. Motley Fool Asset Management LLC now owns 6,340 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $330,000 after purchasing an additional 405 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 295.6% in the 1st quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 633 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Pure Storage

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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