Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the fourteen brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $42.59.

Several research analysts have recently commented on PSTG shares. Wedbush boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $39.00 to $45.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, August 31st. Evercore ISI upped their target price on Pure Storage from $42.00 to $44.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $36.00 to $42.00 in a research report on Friday, June 16th. Bank of America boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $33.00 to $38.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, August 28th. Finally, 888 reiterated a “maintains” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, June 1st.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total value of $1,350,599.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 414,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,193.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,084 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $36.42, for a total value of $1,350,599.28. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 414,393 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $15,092,193.06. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 7,567 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.51, for a total value of $283,838.17. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 155,424 shares in the company, valued at $5,829,954.24. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 148,320 shares of company stock valued at $5,453,744 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PSTG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 121.7% during the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 21,660 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $765,000 after buying an additional 11,891 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at about $233,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Pure Storage in the first quarter valued at about $596,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 1.7% in the first quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 43,894 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,547,000 after acquiring an additional 744 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in Pure Storage by 0.7% in the first quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 1,035,914 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $36,582,000 after acquiring an additional 6,756 shares during the period. 82.98% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pure Storage Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NYSE PSTG opened at $38.96 on Friday. Pure Storage has a 12 month low of $22.14 and a 12 month high of $40.50. The company has a current ratio of 1.69, a quick ratio of 1.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,948.00, a PEG ratio of 9.82 and a beta of 1.26. The business has a 50-day moving average of $37.44 and a 200-day moving average of $30.89.

About Pure Storage

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.