William Blair Investment Management LLC Buys 2,386,864 Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG)

William Blair Investment Management LLC grew its position in Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) by 1,725.3% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,525,208 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 2,386,864 shares during the period. William Blair Investment Management LLC owned approximately 0.77% of Pure Storage worth $155,124,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of PSTG. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Pure Storage by 49.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 644 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth $44,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE PSTG traded up $0.32 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $51.11. 4,095,647 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,028,751. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.51, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $61.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $57.25. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 52 week low of $44.76 and a 52 week high of $73.67.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have commented on PSTG shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $62.00 to $72.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Evercore ISI lifted their target price on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and set a $63.00 price target (up from $59.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Pure Storage in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. One research 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.20.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pure Storage

In other Pure Storage news, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of Pure Storage stock in a transaction dated 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 sale, the insider now owns 262,144 shares in the company, valued at $16,142,827.52. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 8,895 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.11, for a total transaction of $570,258.45. Following the transaction, the executive now owns 72,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,675,349.97. The trade was a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 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.