Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Stake Reduced by Stephens Investment Management Group LLC

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC cut its stake in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,142,834 shares of the technology company's stock after selling 34,147 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC owned approximately 0.35% of Pure Storage worth $57,416,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV boosted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 61.2% in the second quarter. Massmutual Trust Co. FSB ADV now owns 424 shares of the technology company's stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 3.0% in the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 6,912 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $444,000 after buying an additional 202 shares during the period. Michael S. Ryan Inc. raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 4.8% in the second quarter. Michael S. Ryan Inc. now owns 4,542 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $292,000 after buying an additional 208 shares during the period. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 3.2% in the second quarter. Bank Pictet & Cie Europe AG now owns 7,202 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $462,000 after buying an additional 223 shares during the period. Finally, Hanseatic Management Services Inc. raised its holdings in Pure Storage by 2.4% in the second quarter. Hanseatic Management Services Inc. now owns 12,579 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $808,000 after buying an additional 296 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Pure Storage stock traded up $0.92 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $50.97. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,916,931 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,694,045. The firm has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 127.80, a PEG ratio of 8.37 and a beta of 1.11. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $51.83 and a 200-day moving average price of $56.92. The company has a current ratio of 1.99, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Pure Storage, Inc. has a twelve month low of $31.00 and a twelve month high of $70.41.

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 28th. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. Pure Storage had a net margin of 4.53% and a return on equity of 17.41%. The company had revenue of $763.77 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $756.59 million. Sell-side analysts predict that Pure Storage, Inc. will post 0.43 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $5,239,000.00. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 800,000 shares in the company, valued at $41,912,000. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 8,895 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $50.67, for a total transaction of $450,709.65. Following the sale, the executive now directly owns 94,446 shares in the company, valued at $4,785,578.82. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $52.39, for a total transaction of $5,239,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 800,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $41,912,000. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 554,542 shares of company stock valued at $30,014,030. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on PSTG. Guggenheim raised their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $72.00 to $93.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, October 17th. Evercore ISI dropped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Stifel Nicolaus dropped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $65.00 to $60.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Northland Securities reiterated a "market perform" rating and set a $59.00 price objective (down previously from $68.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Pure Storage from $73.00 to $70.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, August 29th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $68.05.

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.