Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Gap Down Following Analyst Downgrade

Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) shares gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a buy rating to a hold rating. The stock had previously closed at $62.44, but opened at $55.18. Pure Storage shares last traded at $53.82, with a volume of 1,419,197 shares traded.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on PSTG. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, November 14th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on Pure Storage from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, December 17th. Finally, Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and set a $63.00 price target (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $73.20.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $65.55, for a total transaction of $6,555,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 7,316,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,611,127.10. This represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $1,229,875.76. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 262,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,142,827.52. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746 in the last three months. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. World Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 1.6% in the fourth quarter. World Investment Advisors now owns 9,635 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $592,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Peapack Gladstone Financial Corp now owns 5,775 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $355,000 after purchasing an additional 150 shares during the period. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. HighPoint Advisor Group LLC now owns 5,885 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $396,000 after purchasing an additional 157 shares during the period. Parallel Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 13,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $815,000 after purchasing an additional 186 shares during the period. Finally, Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Pure Storage by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Cherry Creek Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 67,232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,130,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $65.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $58.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a P/E ratio of 139.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09.

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.