EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) Upgraded to “Equal Weight” at Morgan Stanley

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) was upgraded by Morgan Stanley from an “underweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $225.00 target price on the information technology services provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $236.00. Morgan Stanley’s price target indicates a potential downside of 5.12% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other equities analysts also recently commented on the stock. Guggenheim assumed coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a research report on Tuesday, March 19th. They set a “buy” rating and a $350.00 price objective for the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $325.00 to $275.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday. Wolfe Research raised EPAM Systems from a “peer perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and set a $355.00 target price for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Scotiabank upgraded EPAM Systems from a “sector perform” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $350.00 in a research note on Friday, February 16th. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $340.00 price objective on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 10th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EPAM Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $327.27.

EPAM Systems Price Performance

Shares of EPAM opened at $237.13 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a quick ratio of 4.79 and a current ratio of 4.79. EPAM Systems has a fifty-two week low of $197.99 and a fifty-two week high of $317.50. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $283.71 and a 200-day simple moving average of $273.69. The company has a market capitalization of $13.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 10.69 and a beta of 1.43.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 15th. The information technology services provider reported $2.75 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.51 by $0.24. The company had revenue of $1.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.14 billion. EPAM Systems had a return on equity of 15.53% and a net margin of 8.89%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 6.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $2.71 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that EPAM Systems will post 7.72 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at EPAM Systems

In related news, SVP Sergey Yezhkov sold 8,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $2,416,320.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 12,770 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,857,050.80. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other EPAM Systems news, EVP Balazs Fejes sold 3,470 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $301.93, for a total transaction of $1,047,697.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 13,334 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,025,934.62. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Sergey Yezhkov sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $302.04, for a total value of $2,416,320.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 12,770 shares in the company, valued at $3,857,050.80. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 16,820 shares of company stock valued at $5,101,117 in the last 90 days. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Riverview Trust Co acquired a new stake in EPAM Systems during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC grew its stake in EPAM Systems by 103.0% in the 3rd quarter. VisionPoint Advisory Group LLC now owns 136 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the period. Lindbrook Capital LLC raised its holdings in EPAM Systems by 123.3% in the 3rd quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 163 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. purchased a new position in shares of EPAM Systems during the 4th quarter worth $43,000. 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.