Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Upgraded by Wall Street Zen to Buy Rating

Key Points

• Pure Storage (PSTG) has been upgraded to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting increased confidence in the company's performance.
• Multiple analysts have adjusted their price targets for Pure Storage, with estimates now ranging from $57.00 to $70.00, indicating a positive outlook for the stock.
• Pure Storage reported quarterly earnings of $0.29 per share, surpassing analyst expectations and showing a 12.3% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

PSTG has been the subject of a number of other reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Pure Storage from $40.00 to $62.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 20th. Barclays decreased their price target on Pure Storage from $61.00 to $57.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. 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, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Friday, June 20th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Pure Storage presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $70.21.

Pure Storage Trading Down 2.1%

Pure Storage stock traded down $1.23 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $57.35. 1,487,061 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,722,320. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $55.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $54.01. Pure Storage has a fifty-two week low of $34.51 and a fifty-two week high of $73.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $18.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 155.01, a PEG ratio of 5.57 and a beta of 1.07.

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

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In related news, Director John Francis Murphy sold 6,959 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.17, for a total transaction of $390,887.03. Following the transaction, the director owned 19,706 shares in the company, valued at $1,106,886.02. This trade represents a 26.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.65, for a total value of $309,900.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive directly owned 75,965 shares of the company's stock, valued at $3,923,592.25. The trade was a 7.32% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 446,794 shares of company stock worth $26,641,913 over the last 90 days. 5.60% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Mechanics Financial Corp acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. True Wealth Design LLC raised its stake in Pure Storage by 402.8% during the 2nd quarter. True Wealth Design LLC now owns 548 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $32,000 after acquiring an additional 439 shares during the last quarter. SouthState Corp lifted its position in Pure Storage by 474.8% during the 2nd quarter. SouthState Corp now owns 592 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 489 shares during the period. Finally, REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 49.0% in the 2nd quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 611 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.