Polar Capital Holdings Plc Reduces Stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Polar Capital Holdings Plc lowered its holdings in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 10.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,104,849 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 242,380 shares during the quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc owned 0.65% of Pure Storage worth $129,301,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth about $31,000. Berbice Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth about $44,000. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday. Bank of America reduced their price target on Pure Storage from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $70.20.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 872 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total transaction of $44,916.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now directly owns 89,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,602,470.01. This represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, May 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.01, for a total value of $5,201,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 801,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,709,887.59. This trade represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 107,849 shares of company stock valued at $5,531,346. 5.60% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Pure Storage stock traded up $0.40 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $56.67. 1,072,265 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,083,424. Pure Storage, Inc. has a twelve month low of $34.51 and a twelve month high of $73.67. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $46.65 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $55.77. The firm has a market cap of $18.47 billion, a PE ratio of 149.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.05.

Pure Storage 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.