Insider Selling: Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Director Sells 147,000 Shares of Stock

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total transaction of $7,863,030.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,349,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of PSTG stock traded down $0.56 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $52.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 2,102,268 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,684,863. The company has a 50 day moving average of $49.58 and a 200 day moving average of $40.92. The stock has a market cap of $17.14 billion, a PE ratio of 313.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 12-month low of $22.14 and a 12-month high of $58.46.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth approximately $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the 1st quarter worth approximately $25,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $31,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently weighed in on PSTG shares. Barclays increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research 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 stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $50.53.

About Pure Storage

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.