Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Up 1.4% – Still a Buy?

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) shares traded up 1.4% during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $84.01 and last traded at $83.2460. 2,272,923 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 21% from the average session volume of 2,888,206 shares. The stock had previously closed at $82.13.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities boosted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $63.00 to $71.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $57.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 29th. Needham & Company LLC raised their target price on Pure Storage from $85.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Guggenheim lifted their target price on Pure Storage from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Wedbush upped their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 28th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $92.61.

Pure Storage Trading Up 3.4%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $89.06 and its 200 day moving average price is $70.23. The stock has a market cap of $28.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 209.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.24.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, September 9th. The technology company reported $0.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of $763.77 million during the quarter. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.15% and a return on equity of 11.34%. On average, analysts anticipate that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.44 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Mona Chu sold 17,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.51, for a total transaction of $1,338,925.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 138,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,627,162.49. This trade represents a 11.19% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 3,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $76.93, for a total value of $230,790.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 16,343 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,257,266.99. The trade was a 15.51% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 347,811 shares of company stock worth $31,067,815. 5.60% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Mechanics Financial Corp purchased a new stake in Pure Storage during the second quarter valued at about $25,000. Winnow Wealth LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Provenance Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new position in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Foster Dykema Cabot & Partners LLC bought a new position in Pure Storage during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its stake in Pure Storage by 287.1% in the 3rd quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 329 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 244 shares during the period. 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.