Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Sees Significant Decrease in Short Interest

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) was the target of a significant decline in short interest in December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 254,700 shares, a decline of 16.8% from the November 30th total of 306,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 144,200 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days. Approximately 0.8% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Sapiens International

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its holdings in Sapiens International by 22.6% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,878 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,630,000 after purchasing an additional 32,780 shares during the period. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC boosted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 451.9% in the third quarter. Lord Abbett & CO. LLC now owns 1,131,426 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $42,168,000 after buying an additional 926,405 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Sapiens International by 7.7% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $700,000 after buying an additional 1,391 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC increased its stake in Sapiens International by 5.1% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 32,472 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,210,000 after acquiring an additional 1,585 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Sapiens International by 415.1% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,640 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 44,033 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

Sapiens International stock traded down $0.30 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.83. 27,291 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 134,666. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $34.17. The firm has a market cap of $1.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.13 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18. Sapiens International has a 52 week low of $26.34 and a 52 week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 11th. The technology company reported $0.37 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.38 by ($0.01). Sapiens International had a net margin of 13.23% and a return on equity of 17.61%. The company had revenue of $137.00 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $140.10 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.32 earnings per share. Sapiens International’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Sapiens International will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

SPNS has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Barclays reduced their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, November 12th. William Blair reissued a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Needham & Company LLC lowered their price target on Sapiens International from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 19th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $36.00.

About Sapiens International

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.