Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Raised to "Buy" at Wall Street Zen

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report released on Friday.

A number of other analysts have also commented on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Evercore ISI lifted their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Citigroup upped their target price on Pure Storage from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, May 16th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday. Finally, UBS Group raised their price target 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, five have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $69.95.

Pure Storage Trading Down 0.1%

PSTG traded down $0.06 during trading on Friday, hitting $53.53. The stock had a trading volume of 2,843,367 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,008,574. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $47.40 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.00. The firm has a market cap of $17.45 billion, a PE ratio of 140.88, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.05. Pure Storage has a 12 month low of $34.51 and a 12 month high of $73.67.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Pure Storage news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction 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 owns 801,959 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $41,709,887.59. The trade was a 11.09% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 872 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, May 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.51, for a total value of $44,916.72. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 89,351 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,602,470.01. This trade represents a 0.97% decrease in their position. 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. Corporate insiders own 5.60% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. World Investment Advisors grew its position in Pure Storage by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,635 shares of the technology company's stock worth $592,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,775 shares of the technology company's stock worth $355,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $396,000 after buying an additional 157 shares in the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 1.4% during the 4th quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 13,271 shares of the technology company's stock worth $815,000 after acquiring an additional 186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Empowered Funds LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 4.2% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,790 shares of the technology company's stock worth $212,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares in the last quarter. 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.