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

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) gapped down before the market opened on Friday after an insider sold shares in the company. 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, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total transaction of $807,100.80. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 507,824 shares in the company, valued at approximately $26,813,107.20. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, insider Ajay Singh sold 37,588 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 380,834 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,389,852.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO P. Kevan Krysler sold 15,286 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.80, for a total value of $807,100.80. Following the completion of the sale, 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 286,581 shares of company stock worth $15,266,704 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 6.50% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have commented on PSTG. KeyCorp upped their price target on Pure Storage from $51.00 to $55.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup began coverage on Pure Storage in a research report on Friday, March 15th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $65.00 price target on the stock. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $50.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Susquehanna upped their price target on Pure Storage from $45.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 11th. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price target on Pure Storage from $41.00 to $48.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 23rd. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.63.

Pure Storage Trading Down 4.6 %

The business has a 50 day moving average of $50.02 and a two-hundred day moving average of $41.17. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $16.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 290.94, a P/E/G ratio of 6.79 and a beta of 1.15.

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

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of PSTG. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 121.7% in the first quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 21,660 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $765,000 after purchasing an additional 11,891 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the first quarter valued at approximately $233,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage during the first quarter valued at approximately $596,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Pure Storage by 1.7% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in shares of Pure Storage by 0.7% during 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 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.