Rifat Kerim Akgonul Sells 2,000 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Stock

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total value of $144,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider now directly owns 56,534 shares in the company, valued at $4,084,581.50. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

PEGA stock opened at $71.99 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $6.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.28 and a beta of 1.25. Pegasystems Inc. has a 52-week low of $54.55 and a 52-week high of $113.67. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $92.11 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $85.24.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on PEGA. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays dropped their price objective on Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 11th. StockNews.com cut Pegasystems from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 18th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the period. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the third quarter worth $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 49.1% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 216 shares during the period. Finally, Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 48.0% during the 4th quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 789 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,000 after purchasing an additional 256 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.