Pictet Asset Management SA Raises Stock Holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Pictet Asset Management SA grew its holdings in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 2.8% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 33,168 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 890 shares during the quarter. Pictet Asset Management SA’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $846,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 22,553 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $575,000 after buying an additional 1,459 shares during the last quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC increased its position in shares of Pure Storage by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Penn Capital Management Company LLC now owns 428,310 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,477,000 after purchasing an additional 1,417 shares in the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP raised its stake in Pure Storage by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 65,138 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,743,000 after purchasing an additional 2,894 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 13.2% in the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 52,112 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,393,000 after purchasing an additional 6,090 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pictet & Cie Europe SA acquired a new stake in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth $257,000. 81.77% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

NYSE:PSTG opened at $35.77 on Friday. Pure Storage, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $22.14 and a fifty-two week high of $39.19. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $37.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $30.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $11.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,192.73, a PEG ratio of 8.49 and a beta of 1.29. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a current ratio of 1.69.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 31st. The technology company reported ($0.17) EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of ($0.21) by $0.04. The business had revenue of $589.31 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $560.83 million. Pure Storage had a net margin of 0.63% and a return on equity of 9.03%. Equities research analysts forecast that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Pure Storage news, CAO Mona Chu sold 5,387 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total transaction of $207,345.63. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 147,188 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,665,266.12. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Pure Storage news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,084 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total transaction of $1,350,599.28. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 414,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,193.06. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 5,387 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.49, for a total value of $207,345.63. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 147,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,665,266.12. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 159,373 shares of company stock worth $5,833,636. Corporate insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PSTG has been the topic of several research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $36.00 to $42.00 in a research note on Friday, June 16th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Pure Storage from $34.00 to $42.00 in a report on Friday, June 16th. StockNews.com raised Pure Storage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $37.00 to $38.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. Finally, Wedbush raised their target price on Pure Storage from $34.00 to $39.00 in a research note on Thursday, June 1st. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $40.11.

Pure Storage 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.