Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund Raises Stock Position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund grew its holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 1.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 63,369 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 800 shares during the period. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $3,893,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PSTG. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 210.2% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,553,402 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $137,628,000 after buying an additional 1,730,123 shares in the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 22.5% in the 3rd quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,063,776 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $204,163,000 after buying an additional 747,034 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,262,666 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $515,596,000 after buying an additional 626,427 shares in the last quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter worth $20,470,000. Finally, FMR LLC grew its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 49,153,797 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,469,487,000 after buying an additional 368,643 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $1,229,875.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 262,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,142,827.52. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $516,611.76. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,207,050.96. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of PSTG opened at $62.49 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $66.09 and a 200-day moving average price of $58.28. Pure Storage, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $40.95 and a fifty-two week high of $73.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a PE ratio of 164.45, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Evercore ISI lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $45.00 to $47.00 and gave the stock a “sell” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Lake Street Capital lifted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $72.95.

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.