Short Interest in EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) Increases By 24.0%

EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) was the recipient of a large growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 1,000,000 shares, a growth of 24.0% from the February 13th total of 806,300 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 699,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.4 days. Approximately 1.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

EPAM Systems Stock Down 1.8 %

NYSE EPAM traded down $3.36 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $182.86. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 464,845 shares, compared to its average volume of 647,687. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.96 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The company has a market cap of $10.40 billion, a PE ratio of 23.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.61. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $229.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $222.26. EPAM Systems has a fifty-two week low of $169.43 and a fifty-two week high of $296.20.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.75 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion. EPAM Systems had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 9.61%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that EPAM Systems will post 8.9 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPAM has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Barclays lowered their price target on EPAM Systems from $290.00 to $270.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, March 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded EPAM Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on EPAM Systems from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 target price on shares of EPAM Systems in a research note on Thursday, February 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their target price on EPAM Systems from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, EPAM Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $267.33.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,078 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $277,046.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 23,382 shares in the company, valued at $6,009,174. This trade represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EPAM Systems

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPAM. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $173,053,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $166,906,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,181,143 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $510,053,000 after purchasing an additional 620,551 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 126.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 769,584 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $179,944,000 after purchasing an additional 429,644 shares during the period. Finally, Capital World Investors lifted its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,304,243 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $538,778,000 after purchasing an additional 414,942 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.58% of the company’s stock.

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.