Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Given Outperform Rating at Wedbush

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reiterated by analysts at Wedbush in a research note issued on Thursday,RTT News reports. They presently have a $70.00 price objective on the technology company's stock. Wedbush's price target points to a potential upside of 30.82% from the stock's previous close.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group boosted their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays lowered their price objective on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday. Piper Sandler reiterated an "overweight" rating and issued a $66.00 target price (up previously from $53.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $75.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday. 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $69.95.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PSTG traded down $0.13 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $53.51. 5,960,451 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 3,009,254. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $47.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $55.96. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 140.82, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.05. Pure Storage has a one year low of $34.51 and a one year high of $73.67.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The technology company reported $0.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.04. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 16.06% and a net margin of 4.22%. The business had revenue of $778.49 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $770.03 million. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 12.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts forecast that Pure Storage will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,977 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $3,691,022.93. The trade was a 7.18% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 801,959 shares in the company, valued at $41,709,887.59. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 107,849 shares of company stock valued at $5,531,346 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $25,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 55.9% during the 1st quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 650 shares of the technology company's stock worth $29,000 after buying an additional 233 shares during the period. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.