Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research note released on Thursday.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on PSTG. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on Pure Storage from $80.00 to $77.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Northland Securities reiterated a “market perform” rating and issued a $63.00 price objective (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Bank of America dropped their price objective on Pure Storage from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, Lake Street Capital increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $68.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $73.20.

Pure Storage Price Performance

PSTG stock opened at $52.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 137.95, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. The business’s 50-day moving average is $65.66 and its two-hundred day moving average is $58.20. Pure Storage has a 1 year low of $44.76 and a 1 year high of $73.67.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value of $516,611.76. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 67,681 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,207,050.96. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.55, for a total value of $6,555,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,316,722 shares in the company, valued at approximately $479,611,127.10. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 83.42% of the company’s stock.

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.