Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Cut to Hold at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Thursday.

A number of other research firms also recently commented on PSTG. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Northland Securities restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $63.00 target price (up from $59.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday. Finally, Bank of America lowered their target price on Pure Storage from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.20.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of PSTG opened at $53.04 on Thursday. Pure Storage has a one year low of $40.95 and a one year high of $73.67. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $65.90 and its 200-day moving average is $58.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 139.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $516,611.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,207,050.96. This trade represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction 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 $16,142,827.52. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,178 shares of company stock worth $8,871,746. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. World Investment Advisors increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $592,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its position in Pure Storage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,775 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC grew its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the last quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 13,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $815,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 67,232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $4,130,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is currently 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.