Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG) Receives “Buy” Rating from Needham & Company LLC

Pure Storage (NYSE:PSTG)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reiterated by equities research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a $75.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price suggests a potential upside of 20.02% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently commented on the company. Piper Sandler upgraded Pure Storage from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $56.00 to $76.00 in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Oppenheimer started coverage on Pure Storage in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $70.00 price objective for the company. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Citigroup upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 21st. Finally, Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating and sixteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pure Storage has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $73.20.

Pure Storage Stock Up 1.9 %

NYSE:PSTG opened at $62.49 on Thursday. Pure Storage has a 12-month low of $40.95 and a 12-month high of $73.67. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $66.09 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.28. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 164.45, a P/E/G ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09.

Insider Activity at Pure Storage

In other news, 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 value of $1,229,875.76. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 262,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,142,827.52. This trade represents a 7.08 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, insider John Colgrove sold 100,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $65.55, for a total value of $6,555,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,316,722 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $479,611,127.10. The trade was a 1.35 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 137,178 shares of company stock valued at $8,871,746. Insiders own 6.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pure Storage

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. McIlrath & Eck LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pure Storage in the fourth 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. Crowley Wealth Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Pure Storage during the fourth quarter worth approximately $31,000. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 212 shares during the period. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.