Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Stock Price Down 1.8%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) dropped 1.8% during mid-day trading on Friday . The stock traded as low as $53.67 and last traded at $54.01. Approximately 498,466 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 89% from the average daily volume of 4,728,408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $54.99.

Analyst Ratings Changes

PSTG has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $41.00 to $46.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Susquehanna increased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $50.53.

Pure Storage Trading Down 2.8 %

The company has a market cap of $17.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 314.31, a PEG ratio of 7.14 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.83. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $49.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $40.63.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other Pure Storage news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 380,834 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Naples Money Management LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter valued at about $28,000. LM Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Company 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.