Wedbush Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock

Key Points

• Wedbush has raised its price target for Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) from $70 to $80, indicating a potential upside of 31.41% from the current stock price, while maintaining an "outperform" rating.
• Pure Storage reported earnings of $0.43 per share for the most recent quarter, surpassing expectations, with a year-over-year revenue increase of 12.7% to $861 million.
• Insider selling activity is notable, with significant shares sold recently, leading to a decrease in insider ownership from 7.96% to 5.60% in the last three months.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at Wedbush from $70.00 to $80.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the technology company's stock. Wedbush's target price would indicate a potential upside of 31.41% from the stock's current price.

PSTG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley began coverage on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, August 21st. They set an "equal weight" rating and a $60.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, May 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Pure Storage from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, August 22nd. Finally, Needham & Company LLC upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $85.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pure Storage currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $71.22.

Pure Storage Trading Up 4.0%

Shares of NYSE PSTG opened at $60.88 on Thursday. Pure Storage has a twelve month low of $34.51 and a twelve month high of $73.67. The company has a market capitalization of $19.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 164.54, a PEG ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 1.07. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $56.92 and a two-hundred day moving average of $53.40.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 27th. The technology company reported $0.43 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.39 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 $861.00 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $845.78 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.44 EPS. Pure Storage's revenue was up 12.7% on a year-over-year basis. Pure Storage has set its FY 2026 guidance at EPS. Q3 2026 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Pure Storage will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 22,601 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $55.45, for a total value of $1,253,225.45. Following the sale, the insider owned 261,465 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,498,234.25. This trade represents a 7.96% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 198,749 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.32, for a total transaction of $11,988,539.68. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 500,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $30,160,000. The trade was a 28.44% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 446,794 shares of company stock worth $26,641,913. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Penserra Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 11.8% in the second quarter. Penserra Capital Management LLC now owns 1,666 shares of the technology company's stock worth $95,000 after acquiring an additional 176 shares during the last quarter. Empowered Funds LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 4.2% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,790 shares of the technology company's stock worth $212,000 after acquiring an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 40.0% in the second quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 700 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 200 shares during the last quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 49.0% in the second quarter. REAP Financial Group LLC now owns 611 shares of the technology company's stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GraniteShares Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 2.6% in the second quarter. GraniteShares Advisors LLC now owns 8,001 shares of the technology company's stock worth $461,000 after acquiring an additional 206 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company's stock.

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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