Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Gap Down on Insider Selling

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)’s stock price gapped down prior to trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $51.82, but opened at $50.32. Pure Storage shares last traded at $50.66, with a volume of 550,850 shares traded.

Specifically, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 of the company’s stock, valued at $7,200,794.70. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, April 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.54, for a total transaction of $2,012,461.52. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 29,283 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.14, for a total value of $1,526,815.62. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 138,105 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,200,794.70. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 271,295 shares of company stock valued at $14,459,604. 6.50% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on PSTG shares. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Raymond James downgraded Pure Storage from a “strong-buy” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $52.00 to $63.00 in a report on Friday. Susquehanna lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock a “positive” rating in a report on Thursday, April 11th. UBS Group lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $38.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Pure Storage currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Trading Down 3.7 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a current ratio of 1.83. The business has a fifty day moving average of $49.93 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.07. The firm has a market cap of $16.21 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 304.90, a PEG ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.17 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a return on equity of 12.60% and a net margin of 2.17%. The firm had revenue of $789.81 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $784.31 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.27 EPS. Pure Storage’s revenue was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased 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 valued at $16,537,000 after purchasing an additional 76,421 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Pure Storage by 11.4% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 687,600 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $24,492,000 after purchasing an additional 70,620 shares in the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 3rd quarter valued at $433,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $514,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates increased 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 valued at $10,943,000 after purchasing an additional 30,642 shares in the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Company Profile

Pure Storage, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, provides data storage technologies, products, and services in the United States and internationally. The company's Purity software is shared across its products and provides enterprise-class data services, such as data reduction, data protection, and encryption, as well as storage protocols, including block, file, and object.