Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Receives Buy Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC reissued their buy rating on shares of Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $75.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Evercore ISI boosted their target price on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Pure Storage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Morgan Stanley upped 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. Bank of America reduced their price target on Pure Storage from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Thursday, November 14th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $73.20.

Pure Storage Trading Down 15.1 %

PSTG opened at $53.04 on Thursday. Pure Storage has a twelve month low of $40.95 and a twelve month high of $73.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $17.30 billion, a PE ratio of 139.58, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $65.90 and its 200 day moving average price is $58.24.

Insider Transactions at Pure Storage

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total value of $1,229,875.76. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 262,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,142,827.52. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.55, for a total transaction of $6,555,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 7,316,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $479,611,127.10. This trade represents a 1.35 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 137,178 shares of company stock worth $8,871,746 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in Pure Storage by 11.3% in the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 144,005 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,235,000 after purchasing an additional 14,659 shares in the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 1,160.1% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 73,085 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,671,000 after buying an additional 67,285 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC increased its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 0.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 49,153,797 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,469,487,000 after buying an additional 368,643 shares during the period. Sycomore Asset Management lifted its stake in Pure Storage by 57.8% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 187,874 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $11,541,000 after acquiring an additional 68,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth approximately $264,000. 83.42% of the stock is currently 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.