Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Upgraded by JMP Securities to Outperform

JMP Securities upgraded shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) from a market perform rating to an outperform rating in a research report released on Wednesday, MarketBeat.com reports. They currently have $85.00 price target on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also commented on PEGA. Citigroup decreased their price target on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a buy rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, June 26th. Wedbush reissued an outperform rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a buy rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Barclays boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $69.00 to $74.00 and gave the stock an equal weight rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $82.60.

Pegasystems Trading Down 2.0 %

Shares of PEGA opened at $67.03 on Wednesday. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $37.66 and a twelve month high of $72.74. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $60.08 and its two-hundred day moving average is $59.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.73 billion, a PE ratio of 81.74 and a beta of 1.08.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The technology company reported $0.52 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analyst estimates of $323.55 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned ($0.41) EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.55 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st were issued a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.18%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 14.63%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In other Pegasystems news, Director Sharon T. Rowlands purchased 8,600 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 11th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $58.63 per share, for a total transaction of $504,218.00. Following the acquisition, the director now owns 30,871 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,809,966.73. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the company’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 $54,067.50. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 752 shares in the company, valued at approximately $54,211.68. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Sharon T. Rowlands acquired 8,600 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, June 11th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $58.63 per share, with a total value of $504,218.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director now owns 30,871 shares in the company, valued at $1,809,966.73. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 6,254 shares of company stock worth $403,117. Insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth $201,000. Oak Thistle LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 59.1% during the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 17,202 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $840,000 after purchasing an additional 6,390 shares during the period. New York State Teachers Retirement System purchased a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth $85,000. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale boosted its position in Pegasystems by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 4,634 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $226,000 after purchasing an additional 2,000 shares during the period. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Pegasystems by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 946,109 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,227,000 after purchasing an additional 31,925 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is 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.