One of last year's biggest tech IPOs is getting smoked

Pure Storage, one of the biggest tech IPOs last year, is getting smoked Friday morning after getting downgraded a week ahead of its earnings.

The flash storage provider's stock is now down over 16% as of Friday afternoon (EST), trading at near lowest levels since going public in October 2015.

That's brought the company's total market cap down to $2.43 billion, a big drop from the $3 billion valuation it drew in the private market pre-IPO, and the $2.9 billion market cap it debuted at in the public market.

The price drop comes after market research firm OTR Global downgraded Pure Storage to "negative" ratings on Friday, according to The Street.

The note cited higher competition and pricing pressures, as well as lower than expected pipeline growth, which could be a negative to the company's earnings due next week. It's also a concern that Pure Storage failed to provide full year revenue guidance in its last earnings report, according to Motley Fool.

Pure Storage raised $470 million in private funding before going public last year. It was one of the most anticipated tech IPOs, but its market debut was a bit disappointing as it closed slightly below the $3 billion private market valuation on its the first day of trading.

Here's a chart of Pure Storage's stock movement since its market debut: