Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Up 2.5%

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)’s share price shot up 2.5% during mid-day trading on Monday . The stock traded as high as $54.00 and last traded at $53.55. 662,817 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 4,382,070 shares. The stock had previously closed at $52.24.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

PSTG has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $50.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $43.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their target price on Pure Storage from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Up 0.5 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $17.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 314.43, a P/E/G ratio of 6.78 and a beta of 1.15. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $52.61 and a 200 day moving average price of $42.76. 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 (NYSE:PSTG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.31 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other news, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total transaction of $807,100.80. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 507,824 shares in the company, valued at $26,813,107.20. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Friday, April 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total transaction of $7,863,030.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,349,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 507,824 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $26,813,107.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704 over the last 90 days. 6.50% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Naples Money Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter worth $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 295.6% in the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 473 shares in 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.