Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Monday morning.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on PEGA. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $90.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Monday, July 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $78.00 to $83.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. JMP Securities raised shares of Pegasystems from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, July 31st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment 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 MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $83.60.

Pegasystems Trading Up 0.3 %

PEGA stock opened at $73.52 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $6.25 billion, a PE ratio of 89.66 and a beta of 1.07. Pegasystems has a 12 month low of $37.66 and a 12 month high of $74.50. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $69.59 and a 200 day moving average price of $63.74.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.30. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 49.62% and a net margin of 8.72%. The business had revenue of $351.20 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $323.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned ($0.41) earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Pegasystems will post 1.54 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid 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 dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 14.63%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total transaction of $54,067.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $54,211.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 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 $54,211.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,412 shares in the company, valued at $2,769,121.08. 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. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.09, for a total value of $54,067.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares in the company, valued at $54,211.68. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,955 shares of company stock valued at $3,206,247 over the last quarter. 50.10% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 15,120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 761 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,000 after purchasing an additional 756 shares in the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 64.0% during the first quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 869 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 339 shares during the period. Covestor Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 633.9% during the first quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 1,233 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $80,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the last quarter. Point72 Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter valued at $104,000. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the 2nd quarter worth $124,000. 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.