Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment towards the stock.
• Despite the downgrade, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with analysts setting a price target averaging $69.95, with some firms such as Morgan Stanley increasing their targets significantly.
• Insider trading activities reveal that company executives have sold a notable amount of stock in recent months, indicating possible shifts in management confidence or strategy.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities researchers at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note issued on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on PSTG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Wedbush reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Friday, June 20th. Finally, Piper Sandler reissued an "overweight" rating and set a $66.00 price target (up from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $69.95.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PSTG traded up $0.01 during trading on Friday, reaching $59.41. The company had a trading volume of 2,020,976 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,013,241. Pure Storage has a 52 week low of $34.51 and a 52 week high of $73.67. The stock has a market cap of $19.42 billion, a PE ratio of 160.57, a PEG ratio of 5.65 and a beta of 1.06. The business's 50 day moving average price is $55.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $54.74.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.93% and a return on equity of 13.98%. The company had revenue of $778.49 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $770.03 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.32 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pure Storage will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In related news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.01, for a total transaction of $5,201,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 801,959 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,709,887.59. This represents a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total transaction of $309,900.00. Following the transaction, the executive owned 75,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,923,592.25. The trade was a 7.32% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 147,666 shares of company stock worth $7,819,260. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,566,374 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $157,652,000 after acquiring an additional 12,972 shares during the last quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 7.7% in the first quarter. D.A. Davidson & CO. now owns 7,000 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $310,000 after acquiring an additional 500 shares during the last quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 11.3% in the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 5,339 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $236,000 after acquiring an additional 542 shares during the last quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 8.4% in the first quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 7,327 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $324,000 after acquiring an additional 570 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 4.0% in the first quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 121,895 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $5,396,000 after acquiring an additional 4,687 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company's stock.

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.