Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Down 4.4% on Insider Selling

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) dropped 4.4% during trading on Friday following insider selling activity. The stock traded as low as $49.33 and last traded at $49.52. Approximately 1,159,200 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 75% from the average daily volume of 4,615,409 shares. The stock had previously closed at $51.82.

Specifically, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total value of $1,981,593.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 36,860 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $53.76, for a total transaction of $1,981,593.60. Following the transaction, the director now owns 18,883 shares in the company, valued at $1,015,150.08. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 507,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,813,107.20. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704 over the last quarter. 6.50% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Citigroup assumed coverage on Pure Storage in a research note on Friday, March 15th. They set a “buy” rating and a $65.00 target price for the company. KeyCorp raised their target price on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $66.00 target price on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, April 11th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.63.

Pure Storage Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a PE ratio of 290.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a current ratio of 1.83, a quick ratio of 1.80 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $50.02 and a 200-day simple moving average of $41.17.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 28th. The technology company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping 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 company had revenue of $789.81 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $784.31 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $0.27 EPS. Pure Storage’s revenue for the quarter was down 2.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Pure Storage by 11.4% during 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 acquiring an additional 70,620 shares during the last quarter. Weil Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $433,000. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $514,000. Finally, Raymond James & Associates raised its stake in Pure Storage by 11.1% during the 4th quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 306,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,943,000 after acquiring an additional 30,642 shares during the last quarter. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.