StockNews.com Lowers Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) to Buy

StockNews.com cut shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Friday.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on PEGA. Citigroup increased their price objective on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Rosenblatt Securities raised their price objective on Pegasystems from $75.00 to $90.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 31st. Barclays upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $78.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $83.60.

Pegasystems Stock Up 2.1 %

NASDAQ:PEGA opened at $72.08 on Friday. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $37.66 and a twelve month high of $74.40. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $68.47 and its 200 day simple moving average is $63.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.16 billion, a PE ratio of 87.90 and a beta of 1.07.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share 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 company had revenue of $351.20 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $323.55 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted ($0.41) EPS. Pegasystems’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.54 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, October 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.17%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Insider Activity

In other news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total value of $70,000.00. Following the completion of 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 ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.00, for a total value of $54,144.00. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 38,388 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,763,936. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 25th. The stock was sold at an average price of $70.00, for a total transaction of $70,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 50,505 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,535,350. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 45,955 shares of company stock worth $3,206,247 over the last 90 days. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PEGA. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $167,000. Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 14.8% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 27,950 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,366,000 after purchasing an additional 3,593 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the 4th quarter valued at about $1,076,000. Pinebridge Investments L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the fourth quarter valued at about $1,297,000. Finally, Vinva Investment Management Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the fourth quarter worth about $136,000. 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.