Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) Shares Acquired by William Blair Investment Management LLC

William Blair Investment Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) by 1,725.3% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,525,208 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,386,864 shares during the quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC’s holdings in Pure Storage were worth $155,124,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in PSTG. Sugar Maple Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Compass Financial Services Inc acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Pure Storage by 49.1% in the third quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 644 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 212 shares in the last quarter. Berbice Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Finally, Financial Life Planners acquired a new position in Pure Storage in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $44,000. 83.42% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pure Storage Stock Performance

NYSE:PSTG opened at $50.99 on Monday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $62.86 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $57.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.63 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 134.17, a PEG ratio of 5.12 and a beta of 1.09. Pure Storage, Inc. has a 1 year low of $44.76 and a 1 year high of $73.67.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

PSTG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen upped their price target on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group upped their price target on Pure Storage from $47.00 to $50.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Thursday, February 27th. Barclays boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $56.00 to $61.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Evercore ISI boosted their price objective on Pure Storage from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Bank of America reduced their price objective on Pure Storage from $77.00 to $73.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have given a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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 the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the insider now owns 262,144 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $16,142,827.52. This represents 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 accessible through the SEC website. Also, CRO Dan Fitzsimons sold 8,895 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the executive now directly owns 72,927 shares in the company, valued at $4,675,349.97. This trade represents a 10.87 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 6.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.