Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Acquired by Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 23.3% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 90,577 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,111 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $3,230,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of PSTG. FMR LLC grew its stake in Pure Storage by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 46,793,394 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,666,781,000 after purchasing an additional 663,465 shares in the last quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 33.8% in the 3rd quarter. Polar Capital Holdings Plc now owns 4,068,672 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $144,926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,028,104 shares in the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 61.5% in the 3rd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,399,759 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $121,081,000 after acquiring an additional 1,294,285 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 2.0% in the 3rd quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 2,378,509 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $84,722,000 after acquiring an additional 45,925 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 83.9% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 2,068,255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $73,754,000 after acquiring an additional 943,850 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Stock Up 2.1 %

Shares of Pure Storage stock opened at $50.52 on Tuesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $50.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $41.38. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 1.83 and a quick ratio of 1.80. The company has a market capitalization of $16.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 297.19, a PEG ratio of 6.42 and a beta of 1.15. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 1-year low of $22.14 and a 1-year high of $58.46.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.17 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 2.17%. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently commented on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup started coverage on Pure Storage in a report on Friday, March 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James downgraded Pure Storage from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday. Finally, Bank of America raised their price target on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.63.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total value of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Pure Storage Profile

Pure Storage, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides data storage technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.