EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $264.20.

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Mizuho increased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $245.00 to $282.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, November 13th. Scotiabank raised shares of EPAM Systems from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $245.00 to $275.00 in a report on Monday, November 11th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Itau BBA Securities raised shares of EPAM Systems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $269.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock.

EPAM Systems Stock Down 1.4 %

EPAM stock opened at $240.47 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. EPAM Systems has a fifty-two week low of $169.43 and a fifty-two week high of $317.50. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.10 and its 200 day simple moving average is $200.05. The stock has a market cap of $13.64 billion, a PE ratio of 31.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.73 and a beta of 1.49.

EPAM Systems declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock buyback program on Thursday, August 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to buy up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other EPAM Systems news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $237,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,836 shares in the company, valued at $5,886,132. This trade represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 14,325.2% in the second quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 657,070 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $123,601,000 after buying an additional 652,515 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 80.0% during the second quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 595,486 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $112,017,000 after purchasing an additional 264,570 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 45.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 515,351 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $102,570,000 after purchasing an additional 160,989 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $84,850,000. Finally, Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA boosted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 643.4% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 417,526 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $83,100,000 after purchasing an additional 361,363 shares during the period. 91.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems, Inc provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, performance tuning, deployment, maintenance, and support services.