Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Now Covered by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Oppenheimer initiated coverage on shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) in a report published on Wednesday, MarketBeat reports. The firm issued an outperform rating and a $70.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Raymond James cut their price target on Pure Storage from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 29th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $72.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Susquehanna reiterated a “positive” rating and set a $80.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Monday, August 26th. TD Cowen dropped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $80.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $47.00 to $45.00 and set a “sell” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $68.15.

Pure Storage Trading Down 3.3 %

Shares of Pure Storage stock opened at $48.19 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $51.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $56.87. The stock has a market cap of $15.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 120.48, a PEG ratio of 6.54 and a beta of 1.10. Pure Storage has a 12-month low of $31.00 and a 12-month high of $70.41.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, August 28th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $763.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $756.59 million. On average, equities analysts forecast that Pure Storage will post 0.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.94, for a total transaction of $4,994,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 500,000 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $24,970,000. The trade was a 16.67 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 20,647 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $1,063,320.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 75,992 shares in the company, valued at $3,913,588. This trade represents a 21.37 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 454,542 shares of company stock valued at $24,775,030. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV lifted its stake 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 valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 161 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 242.9% in the second quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 432 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 306 shares during the last quarter. ORG Wealth Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the third quarter valued at $31,000. FSC Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the second quarter valued at $33,000. Finally, City State Bank increased its position in Pure Storage by 175.0% during the 2nd quarter. City State Bank now owns 550 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

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.