Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s What Happened

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $75.58 and last traded at $75.40, with a volume of 66658 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $73.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on PEGA shares. DA Davidson increased their target price on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. 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. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $90.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Pegasystems from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, October 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $83.60.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The business has a 50-day moving average of $69.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $63.83. The company has a market cap of $6.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 89.33 and a beta of 1.07.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.30. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.72% and a return on equity of 49.62%. The firm had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned ($0.41) EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.16%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is presently 14.63%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $54,067.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares in the company, valued at $54,211.68. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $54,067.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares in the company, valued at $54,211.68. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The shares were sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $70,000.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 50,505 shares in the company, valued at $3,535,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 45,955 shares of company stock worth $3,206,247. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Optimist Retirement Group LLC increased its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 5.0% in the second quarter. Optimist Retirement Group LLC now owns 3,434 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $208,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the period. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in Pegasystems by 29.9% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 1,129 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $68,000 after buying an additional 260 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System raised its position in Pegasystems by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 11,744 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $711,000 after buying an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Duality Advisers LP lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Duality Advisers LP now owns 13,690 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $885,000 after acquiring an additional 363 shares during the period. Finally, Swiss National Bank boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 82,500 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,333,000 after acquiring an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

About Pegasystems

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.