Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Stock Rating Lowered by StockNews.com

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Several other equities analysts have also recently weighed in on PEGA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their target price on Pegasystems from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Loop Capital raised shares of Pegasystems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $68.00 to $84.00 in a research report on Thursday, August 1st. DA Davidson upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.60.

Pegasystems Trading Up 2.1 %

PEGA traded up $1.46 during trading on Friday, hitting $72.08. 501,951 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 545,623. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.13 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 87.90 and a beta of 1.07. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $68.47 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $63.24. Pegasystems has a 12-month low of $37.66 and a 12-month high of $74.40.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.30. The company had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $323.55 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 49.62% and a net margin of 8.72%. Pegasystems’s revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted ($0.41) earnings per share. On average, equities analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total transaction of $73,170.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 17,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,263,060.54. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $54,067.50. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $54,211.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.17, for a total value of $73,170.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 17,262 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,263,060.54. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 45,955 shares of company stock valued at $3,206,247. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pacer Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter worth $67,968,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Pegasystems by 266.8% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 390,580 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $23,641,000 after acquiring an additional 284,095 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its position in Pegasystems by 104.5% during the second quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 554,777 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $33,381,000 after purchasing an additional 283,508 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 4.9% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,369,237 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $347,067,000 after purchasing an additional 250,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 77.8% in the 1st quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 499,532 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,273,000 after purchasing an additional 218,599 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Pegasystems Company Profile

Pegasystems Inc develops, markets, licenses, hosts, and supports enterprise software in the United States, rest of the Americas, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides Pega Infinity, a software portfolio comprising of Pega Customer Decision Hub, a real-time AI-powered decision engine to enhance customer acquisition and experiences across inbound, outbound, and paid media channels; Pega Customer Service to anticipate customer needs, connect customers to people and systems, and automate customer interactions to evolve the customer service experience, as well as to allow enterprises to deliver interactions across channels and enhance employee productivity; and Pega Platform, an intelligent automation software for increasing efficiency of clients' processes and workflows.