Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Price Target Raised to $90.00 at Morgan Stanley

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) had its price objective increased by Morgan Stanley from $72.00 to $90.00 in a report released on Monday morning,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PSTG. UBS Group set a $110.00 price objective on Pure Storage in a research report on Tuesday, October 21st. Wall Street Zen raised shares of Pure Storage from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 30th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $80.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 26th. Guggenheim increased their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $93.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, September 26th. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Pure Storage from $90.00 to $105.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 20th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $92.61.

Pure Storage Trading Down 0.5%

NYSE:PSTG opened at $84.17 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $27.66 billion, a P/E ratio of 205.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 8.99 and a beta of 1.24. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $89.34 and a two-hundred day moving average of $68.74. Pure Storage has a 12 month low of $34.51 and a 12 month high of $100.59.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO Mona Chu sold 9,091 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.91, for a total transaction of $771,916.81. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 107,353 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $9,115,343.23. The trade was a 7.81% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Roxanne Taylor sold 3,000 shares of the company’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 transaction of $230,790.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,343 shares in the company, valued at $1,257,266.99. The trade was a 15.51% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 443,111 shares of company stock worth $36,793,439 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 5.60% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc increased its holdings in Pure Storage by 8.3% in the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 1,598 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,000 after buying an additional 122 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 468 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. One Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. One Capital Management LLC now owns 14,750 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,236,000 after acquiring an additional 141 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 43,756 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,667,000 after acquiring an additional 152 shares in the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 10.3% during the third quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 1,673 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $140,000 after purchasing an additional 156 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 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.