Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Given New $77.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Free Report) had its price target lowered by Citigroup from $80.00 to $77.00 in a research note released on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the technology company's stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on PSTG. TD Cowen raised their price target on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on shares of Pure Storage from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $60.00 to $65.00 and gave the company a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Pure Storage in a research report on Wednesday, November 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, UBS Group boosted their price target on Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a "sell" rating in a research report on Thursday, February 27th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.20.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:PSTG traded up $0.69 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $50.12. The stock had a trading volume of 3,654,983 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,628,309. Pure Storage has a 1 year low of $44.76 and a 1 year high of $73.67. The firm's 50 day moving average is $65.37 and its 200-day moving average is $58.09. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 131.89, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In related news, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $62.16, for a total value 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. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $61.58, for a total transaction of $1,229,875.76. Following 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 disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746 over the last 90 days. 6.00% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of PSTG. Siemens Fonds Invest GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Pure Storage in the 4th quarter valued at $81,000. Menard Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Pure Storage by 17.5% in the fourth quarter. Menard Financial Group LLC now owns 10,915 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $671,000 after purchasing an additional 1,626 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth $10,289,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the fourth quarter valued at $202,000. Finally, Ascent Group LLC purchased a new stake in Pure Storage in the 4th quarter worth about $310,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by 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.