Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Up 0.5%

Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) rose 0.5% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $51.31 and last traded at $50.40. Approximately 289,411 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 93% from the average daily volume of 4,438,387 shares. The stock had previously closed at $50.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Evercore ISI increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 23rd. Morgan Stanley boosted 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. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Barclays boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

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 stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.46 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.71 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 296.49, a P/E/G ratio of 6.55 and a beta of 1.14.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its quarterly 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 net margin of 2.17% and a return on equity of 12.60%. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.27 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was down 2.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In related news, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, April 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $53.49, for a total value of $7,863,030.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,349,000. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Pure Storage news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 18,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the company’s 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 owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,349,000. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 286,581 shares of company stock valued at $15,266,704. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Naples Money Management LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Banque Cantonale Vaudoise bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Fidelis Capital Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, Lindbrook Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 295.6% during the first quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 633 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 473 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Pure Storage

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.