Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

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

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on PSTG. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays raised their price objective on Pure Storage from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Piper Sandler upgraded shares of Pure Storage from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and increased their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $76.00 in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $60.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $80.00 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 given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $73.20.

Pure Storage Stock Down 5.7 %

PSTG stock traded down $2.97 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $49.50. The company had a trading volume of 4,067,570 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,190. The company has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.27, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $65.66 and a 200 day moving average price of $58.19. Pure Storage has a 12-month low of $44.76 and a 12-month high of $73.67.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $1,229,875.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now owns 262,144 shares of the company's stock, valued at $16,142,827.52. The trade was a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 8,895 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $64.11, for a total value of $570,258.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive now owns 72,927 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,675,349.97. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746. Corporate insiders own 6.00% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. McIlrath & Eck LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth $29,000. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in Pure Storage during the 4th quarter worth $31,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Pure Storage by 49.1% during the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 644 shares of the technology company's stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. 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.