NEW YORK, Dec. 27, 2025, 7:17 p.m. ET — Market closed.
Pure Storage, Inc. (NYSE: PSTG) stock is heading into the final full trading week of the year with investors weighing a sharp pullback from recent highs against a stepped-up share repurchase program, upbeat (but not unanimous) Wall Street targets, and the company’s raised fiscal 2026 outlook.
With U.S. stock markets closed this weekend, the last actionable price signal for PSTG came from Friday’s regular session: Pure Storage shares finished at $69.28, up $2.29 (+3.42%), after trading between $66.75 and $69.48 on volume of roughly 2.12 million shares. [1]
In the final after-hours prints on Friday, quotes were modestly lower near $69 (thin liquidity is typical outside the regular session). [2]
PSTG stock today: why the “market closed” context matters
Because it’s the weekend, there’s no premarket or after-hours session currently setting direction. That makes Monday’s open more sensitive to any weekend headlines or shifts in broader risk sentiment, especially in year-end conditions when liquidity can be lighter and price gaps are more common.
For reference, the NYSE’s core trading hours run 9:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET, with extended hours available on certain venues outside that window. [3]
What moved Pure Storage in the last session
Friday’s move higher took place against a relatively quiet tape for U.S. large-cap indexes, which finished close to flat. [4]
Pure Storage’s bounce also comes after a volatile month for the name, with traders continuing to recalibrate expectations around the company’s hyperscaler and AI-adjacent storage momentum, profitability trajectory, and capital-return story.
Latest Pure Storage news in the last 24–48 hours
In the past 24–48 hours, the most visible headlines have been market- and filing-driven rather than product-launch driven:
- Shares rallied into the weekend: A widely circulated trading recap highlighted PSTG’s roughly 3%–4% advance in Friday’s session and reiterated that analyst sentiment remains broadly constructive overall. [5]
- Institutional ownership update: A new report tied to recent SEC filing activity noted Swedbank AB increased its position in Pure Storage during the third quarter, reflecting continued institutional participation in the shareholder base. [6]
The bigger setup: what Pure Storage just told investors about fundamentals
The most important fundamental anchor for Pure Storage stock remains the company’s latest quarterly results and updated outlook.
In its third-quarter fiscal 2026 report (quarter ended Nov. 2, 2025), Pure Storage reported:
- Revenue:$964.5 million, up 16% year over year
- Subscription services revenue:$429.7 million, up 14%
- Subscription ARR:$1.8 billion, up 17%
- RPO:$2.9 billion, up 24%
- Cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities:$1.5 billion
- Share repurchases in the quarter: about $53 million (0.6 million shares) [7]
Management framed the strategy around data accessibility for AI-era workloads. CEO Charles Giancarlo said competitive advantage in the AI era “demands data accessibility,” pointing to the company’s Enterprise Data Cloud approach to break data out of silos. [8]
CFO Tarek Robbiati emphasized profitability and reinvestment priorities—saying the company exceeded the high end of guidance and plans incremental investments in R&D and sales and marketing to pursue “profitable growth opportunities.” [9]
On profitability metrics, Pure Storage reported GAAP diluted EPS of $0.16 and non-GAAP diluted EPS of $0.58 for the quarter. [10]
Guidance raised: the key numbers bulls and bears are modeling
The company’s outlook updates are central to the stock debate because they define the near-term ceiling and floor for expectations.
Pure Storage guided:
- Q4 FY26 revenue:$1.02B to $1.04B
- FY26 revenue: raised to $3.63B to $3.64B (from $3.60B to $3.63B)
- FY26 non-GAAP operating income: raised to $629M to $639M (from $605M to $625M) [11]
For investors, the practical question is whether the guidance trajectory supports a re-rating higher in 2026—or whether incremental investment and hyperscaler deal structure could pressure margins enough to cap upside.
Buyback catalyst: what the $400 million authorization signals
One of the clearest shareholder-friendly signals in recent weeks is Pure Storage’s expanded repurchase authorization.
On Dec. 10, 2025, Pure Storage announced its board approved an incremental $400 million share repurchase authorization, on top of about $20 million remaining from a prior $250 million program. The company said repurchases can be made opportunistically and funded from available cash; the program has no expiration date and can be suspended. [12]
Robbiati called it the company’s “largest-ever” repurchase authorization and tied it to strategic value and financial position—language that buyback-focused investors often read as management signaling confidence in longer-term cash generation. [13]
Analyst forecasts: Wall Street sees upside, but targets are wide
Street expectations for PSTG remain constructive in aggregate, but the dispersion is unusually important—because it highlights where the real debate sits (hyperscaler durability, margin trajectory, and how quickly subscription economics scale).
A widely followed consensus compilation shows:
- Consensus rating:Moderate Buy (13 Buys, 6 Holds, 1 Sell)
- Average price target: about $95.26
- Target range:$60 (low) to $120 (high) [14]
A more detailed breakdown of post-results notes includes analysts and targets such as:
- Oppenheimer analyst Param Singh (Buy, $120 target)
- J.P. Morgan analyst Samik Chatterjee (Buy, $105)
- Evercore ISI analyst Amit Daryanani (Buy, $105)
- TD Cowen analyst Krish Sankar (Buy, $100)
- UBS analyst David Vogt (Sell, $60) [15]
UBS’s note is a useful snapshot of the bear case framing: while acknowledging Pure Storage’s reported performance and guidance, UBS kept a Sell stance and raised its target to $60, citing concerns that alternative hyperscaler financial models and incremental investment could pressure margins and lead to future estimate resets. [16]
Ownership and sentiment checkpoints investors are tracking
Short interest is relatively modest by “high short” standards, which can matter for volatility expectations. As of Dec. 15, 2025, Pure Storage had about 8.90 million shares sold short (about 2.85% of float), with a days-to-cover ratio of 1.2. [17]
Meanwhile, investors have also been monitoring insider transaction disclosures. For example, a Form 4 filed for Pure Storage Chief Product Officer Ajay Singh reflects a sale of 7,178 shares on Dec. 23, 2025 at a weighted average price of $67.14 (with details on the price range in the filing’s footnote). [18]
A separate Form 4 for company founder and Chief Visionary Officer John “Coz” Colgrove shows reported sales activity dated Dec. 8, 2025 (with transaction details and pricing in the filing). [19]
Insider sales don’t automatically imply a negative view—executives sell for many reasons—but they often factor into investor sentiment when a stock is volatile or re-pricing.
Before Monday’s open: what PSTG investors should know for the next session
With markets reopening Monday, here are the practical items investors commonly watch for Pure Storage stock specifically:
- Any weekend headlines that change the AI infrastructure narrative
Pure Storage’s longer-term bull case is closely tied to enterprise AI adoption and hyperscaler-scale storage needs. The company has been positioning its portfolio and partnerships around AI production deployments (not just pilots). [20] - Buyback execution pace
Authorizations can support sentiment, but investors often look for follow-through: steady repurchases (especially during drawdowns) can help anchor the stock if volatility persists. [21] - Catalysts on the calendar
Pure Storage is scheduled for investor conference participation, including the Needham Growth Virtual Conference on Jan. 15, 2026, featuring John Colgrove. [22]
The next earnings report is currently listed for Feb. 25, 2026. [23] - Technical levels in a year-end liquidity environment
Some market watchers are noting how far the stock sits below key moving averages after the recent pullback—levels that can influence momentum flows into the first weeks of the new year. [24]
The bottom line for Pure Storage stock heading into the next session
Pure Storage stock enters Monday’s session with a clear set of competing forces:
- Supportive pillars: raised FY26 guidance, a sizable buyback authorization, and a consensus analyst view that still implies meaningful upside from current levels. [25]
- Key risks: debate over hyperscaler economics, the margin impact of heavier investment beyond FY26, and the reality that the stock remains sensitive to broader growth-stock sentiment—especially during thin year-end trading. [26]
When markets reopen, PSTG’s near-term direction may come down less to a single headline and more to whether investors treat the stock’s current zone near $69 as a durable “reset level” before the next catalyst—particularly the February earnings report and any incremental commentary on margins, hyperscaler models, and AI-related demand. [27]
References
1. investor.purestorage.com, 2. www.marketwatch.com, 3. www.nyse.com, 4. www.marketwatch.com, 5. www.marketbeat.com, 6. www.marketbeat.com, 7. investor.purestorage.com, 8. investor.purestorage.com, 9. investor.purestorage.com, 10. investor.purestorage.com, 11. investor.purestorage.com, 12. www.purestorage.com, 13. www.purestorage.com, 14. www.marketbeat.com, 15. www.tipranks.com, 16. www.investing.com, 17. www.marketbeat.com, 18. www.sec.gov, 19. www.sec.gov, 20. investor.purestorage.com, 21. www.purestorage.com, 22. investor.purestorage.com, 23. www.investing.com, 24. www.marketbeat.com, 25. investor.purestorage.com, 26. www.investing.com, 27. investor.purestorage.com
