Essex LLC Buys Shares of 3,685 Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

Essex LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 3,685 shares of the technology company's stock, valued at approximately $226,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 210.2% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 2,553,402 shares of the technology company's stock worth $137,628,000 after acquiring an additional 1,730,123 shares during the last quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 22.5% in the third quarter. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. now owns 4,063,776 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $204,163,000 after buying an additional 747,034 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Pure Storage by 6.5% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 10,262,666 shares of the technology company's stock worth $515,596,000 after buying an additional 626,427 shares during the period. World Investment Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the third quarter worth about $20,470,000. Finally, FMR LLC increased its position in Pure Storage by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 49,153,797 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,469,487,000 after acquiring an additional 368,643 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pure Storage Stock Down 0.1 %

PSTG traded down $0.04 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $67.28. 2,054,037 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,420,878. Pure Storage, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $38.78 and a fifty-two week high of $73.67. The company has a market capitalization of $21.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 177.06, a PEG ratio of 5.26 and a beta of 1.09. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $65.53 and a 200 day moving average price of $57.49.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have weighed in on PSTG. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Guggenheim boosted their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $72.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 17th. Needham & Company LLC lifted their price objective on Pure Storage from $62.00 to $75.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Oppenheimer assumed coverage on Pure Storage in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 target price for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $72.70.

Insider Activity

In other Pure Storage news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the insider now directly owns 7,316,722 shares in the company, valued at $479,611,127.10. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total transaction of $516,611.76. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 67,681 shares in the company, valued at $4,207,050.96. This represents a 10.94 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 137,178 shares of company stock worth $8,871,746. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

About Pure Storage

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.