Shares of Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE:PSTG) experienced a significant decline of 27.2% on Wednesday, following a downgrade from Citigroup, which revised its price target from $110.00 to $105.00. Despite the downgrade, Citigroup maintains a buy rating on the stock. During trading, shares of Pure Storage hit a low of $68.34 before closing at $68.94, with approximately 21,365,759 shares exchanged, marking an increase of 609% in volume compared to the average daily trading volume of 3,014,156 shares.
The stock’s previous closing price was $94.72. Analysts continue to provide mixed reviews, with Raymond James Financial raising their target price for Pure Storage from $88.00 to $99.00, and assigning an “outperform” rating in a report dated October 17, 2023. Susquehanna set a price target of $105.00, while Northland Securities pegged their price objective at $77.00. Additionally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target from $80.00 to $100.00, maintaining an “overweight” rating, and Evercore ISI raised its target from $90.00 to $105.00.
Currently, thirteen research analysts have rated Pure Storage with a Buy rating, seven have given it a Hold rating, and one has issued a Sell rating. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock holds an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $93.16.
Institutional Trading Dynamics
Recent trading activity indicates a shift among institutional investors regarding their holdings in Pure Storage. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake by 1.9% during the third quarter, now owning 33,891,025 shares valued at approximately $2.84 billion after acquiring an additional 623,019 shares. State Street Corp also lifted its position by 1.9%, bringing its total to 10,864,918 shares worth $910.59 million.
Furthermore, T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. expanded its holdings by 25.9%, now owning 9,075,944 shares valued at around $401.79 million. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its stake by 1.7%, totaling 7,273,696 shares worth approximately $417.83 million. Notably, William Blair Investment Management LLC raised its stake by 112.9%, now holding 4,926,836 shares valued at $283.69 million. Currently, institutional investors hold 83.42% of Pure Storage’s stock.
Financial Performance Overview
Pure Storage’s stock decline comes in light of its recent quarterly earnings results announced on September 9, 2023. The company reported earnings of $0.44 per share for the quarter, with a revenue of $763.77 million. The firm has a market capitalization of $22.66 billion, a price-to-earnings (P/E) ratio of 168.15, and a price-to-earnings growth (PEG) ratio of 8.30.
Analysts forecast that Pure Storage will maintain an earnings per share (EPS) of $0.44 for the current year, indicating a stable outlook for the company amidst the recent volatility in stock prices.
Pure Storage specializes in providing data storage and management technologies both domestically and internationally. Its Purity software facilitates enterprise-class data services, encompassing data protection, encryption, and various storage protocols.
As the market continues to react to these developments, stakeholders will be closely monitoring the performance of Pure Storage in the coming periods.
