Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Given New $50.00 Price Target at UBS Group

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG - Get Free Report) had its target price raised by stock analysts at UBS Group from $47.00 to $50.00 in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sell" rating on the technology company's stock. UBS Group's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 1.01% from the stock's previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Northland Securities reissued a "market perform" rating and issued a $63.00 price target (up previously from $59.00) on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. TD Cowen boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer began coverage on shares of Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $70.00 price target for the company. Finally, Evercore ISI boosted their price target on shares of Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $73.20.

Pure Storage Trading Down 5.7 %

Shares of Pure Storage stock traded down $2.97 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $49.50. The company had a trading volume of 4,069,031 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,638,260. The company has a market capitalization of $16.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 130.27, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $65.37 and a 200 day simple moving average of $58.09. Pure Storage has a 1-year low of $44.76 and a 1-year high of $73.67.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In other news, insider Ajay Singh sold 19,972 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the insider now owns 262,144 shares in the company, valued at $16,142,827.52. This represents a 7.08 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CAO Mona Chu sold 8,311 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 67,681 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,207,050.96. The trade was a 10.94 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746. 6.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pure Storage

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PSTG. Citigroup Inc. raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 11.3% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 144,005 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,235,000 after buying an additional 14,659 shares during the last quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 1,160.1% during the third quarter. TT International Asset Management LTD now owns 73,085 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,671,000 after buying an additional 67,285 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 0.8% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 49,153,797 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,469,487,000 after buying an additional 368,643 shares during the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management raised its position in shares of Pure Storage by 57.8% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 187,874 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $11,541,000 after buying an additional 68,840 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Asio Capital LLC bought a new stake in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter worth $264,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 83.42% 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.