Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Given "Buy" Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy" rating reiterated by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $75.00 price target on the technology company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 41.98% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on PSTG. Morgan Stanley increased 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. Barclays reduced their target price on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pure Storage from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, May 30th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, UBS Group increased their price target on Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $69.95.

Pure Storage Price Performance

Pure Storage stock opened at $52.82 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $17.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 142.77, a P/E/G ratio of 5.04 and a beta of 1.05. Pure Storage has a 12-month low of $34.51 and a 12-month high of $73.67. The firm's 50-day moving average is $50.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $56.15.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly 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 return on equity of 13.98% and a net margin of 3.93%. The company had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $770.03 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.32 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 12.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Pure Storage will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pure Storage news, Director John Francis Murphy sold 11,234 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $619,330.42. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 21,930 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,209,000.90. This trade represents a 33.87% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,977 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Monday, April 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $40.91, for a total value of $285,429.07. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 90,223 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,691,022.93. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 119,083 shares of company stock valued at $6,150,676 over the last three months. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $25,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB grew its stake in Pure Storage by 55.9% in the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the last quarter. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth $31,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC lifted its position in Pure Storage by 5,233.3% during the 1st quarter. FNY Investment Advisers LLC now owns 800 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 785 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TruNorth Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage during the first quarter valued at about $38,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.

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