UBS Group Downgrades Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) to Sell

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) was downgraded by equities researchers at UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “sell” rating in a note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. They currently have a $47.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $44.00. UBS Group’s price target would suggest a potential downside of 26.21% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Pure Storage from $50.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Northland Capmk cut Pure Storage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Tuesday, May 28th. Barclays raised their price objective on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Evercore ISI raised their price objective on Pure Storage from $65.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, May 30th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Pure Storage presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $69.11.

Pure Storage Stock Up 1.5 %

Shares of NYSE:PSTG opened at $63.69 on Tuesday. Pure Storage has a 52-week low of $31.00 and a 52-week high of $70.41. The stock has a market cap of $20.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 227.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.47 and a beta of 1.11. The business’s 50 day moving average is $60.48 and its 200 day moving average is $50.48. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 29th. The technology company reported ($0.02) earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.04) by $0.02. The business had revenue of $693.48 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $681.37 million. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 15.34% and a net margin of 3.19%. Sell-side analysts predict that Pure Storage will post 0.47 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Pure Storage news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total transaction of $1,526,815.62. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 138,105 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,200,794.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.78, for a total transaction of $312,110.04. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 35,498 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,299,560.44. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total value of $1,526,815.62. Following the sale, the executive now owns 138,105 shares in the company, valued at $7,200,794.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 254,539 shares of company stock worth $13,597,221 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 61.2% in the 2nd quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 424 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. First Hawaiian Bank acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 2nd quarter worth about $1,830,000. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 113.6% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,982 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $127,000 after buying an additional 1,054 shares during the last quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 4.8% in the 2nd quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 4,542 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $292,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 1st quarter worth about $5,095,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.