Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Rosenblatt Securities increased their price target on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Barclays reduced their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $99.00 to $123.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 18th. Finally, JMP Securities restated a “market outperform” rating and set a $110.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Pegasystems Price Performance

NASDAQ:PEGA traded up $0.28 on Monday, hitting $78.17. 1,030,270 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,015,965. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $84.75. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $54.55 and a 52 week high of $113.67. The company has a market cap of $6.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.40 and a beta of 1.11.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share 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%. On average, research analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $189,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 15,400 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,456,840. This trade represents a 11.49 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total transaction of $71,139.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,884 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,489,226.40. The trade was a 2.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 21,745 shares of company stock valued at $2,001,989. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Raymond James & Associates raised its position in Pegasystems by 166.8% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 70,432 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,148,000 after buying an additional 44,035 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 709.1% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 97,563 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $7,131,000 after purchasing an additional 85,505 shares during the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the third quarter valued at about $310,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $604,000. Finally, Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new position in Pegasystems during the third quarter worth about $57,000. 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.