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 March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,240,000 shares, a growth of 24.0% from the February 28th total of 1,000,000 shares. Approximately 2.3% of the company’s stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 673,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.8 days.

EPAM Systems Stock Performance

Shares of EPAM stock opened at $169.16 on Thursday. EPAM Systems has a 52-week low of $162.74 and a 52-week high of $275.49. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 2.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The stock has a market cap of $9.62 billion, a PE ratio of 21.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.61. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $217.03 and a 200-day simple moving average of $219.91.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,078 shares of EPAM Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $277,046.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,382 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,009,174. The trade was a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 4.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EPAM Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in EPAM. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of EPAM Systems by 90.0% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 114 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC boosted its position in EPAM Systems by 2,500.0% during the fourth quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 130 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $30,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its position in EPAM Systems by 88.5% during the fourth quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 147 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $34,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc acquired a new stake in EPAM Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Finally, Manchester Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of EPAM Systems by 590.0% in the fourth quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC now owns 207 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 177 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 91.58% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EPAM has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised EPAM Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $235.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. StockNews.com lowered EPAM Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $265.00 price target on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $305.00 to $288.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $262.47.

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.