Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Receives $69.11 Average Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have given a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $69.11.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on PSTG shares. Bank of America upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $57.00 to $68.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Northland Capmk lowered shares of Pure Storage from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, May 30th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 target price (up previously from $50.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Tuesday, May 28th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.78, for a total value of $312,110.04. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 35,498 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,560.44. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Pure Storage news, Director Scott Dietzen sold 147,000 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the director now owns 100,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,349,000. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Mallun Yen sold 4,818 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were 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 of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,299,560.44. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 231,247 shares of company stock valued at $12,496,701. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 19.7% in the 3rd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 464,256 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 76,421 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,168,335 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,666,000 after purchasing an additional 28,086 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth $514,000. Private Advisor Group LLC raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 44.1% in the 4th quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 11,235 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $401,000 after purchasing an additional 3,437 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 11.1% in the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 306,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,943,000 after purchasing an additional 30,642 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

NYSE PSTG opened at $67.70 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $61.85 and its 200-day moving average is $51.50. Pure Storage has a 12-month low of $31.00 and a 12-month high of $70.41. The company has a quick ratio of 1.96, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The firm has a market cap of $22.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 241.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.57 and a beta of 1.11.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its quarterly 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. Pure Storage had a net margin of 3.19% and a return on equity of 15.34%. The company had revenue of $693.48 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $681.37 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Pure Storage will post 0.47 earnings per share for the current year.

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.