Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) Short Interest Up 28.7% in February

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) saw a significant increase in short interest during the month of February. As of February 28th, there was short interest totalling 248,300 shares, an increase of 28.7% from the February 13th total of 193,000 shares. Currently, 0.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 185,100 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Sapiens International Stock Performance

NASDAQ:SPNS traded down $0.20 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $27.73. 45,114 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 148,805. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 21.49 and a beta of 1.16. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $26.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $30.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.24. Sapiens International has a fifty-two week low of $25.01 and a fifty-two week high of $41.22.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 18th. The technology company reported $0.36 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.37 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $134.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $135.89 million. Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.42% and a net margin of 13.31%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Sapiens International will post 1.42 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SPNS has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. William Blair reaffirmed a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group cut Sapiens International from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price objective for the company from $36.00 to $28.00 in a research report on Monday, February 3rd. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $35.00 price objective on shares of Sapiens International in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. StockNews.com cut Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Finally, Barclays dropped their price target on Sapiens International from $30.00 to $28.00 and set an “underweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 19th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sapiens International currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $33.50.

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its position in shares of Sapiens International by 7.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $700,000 after acquiring an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 415.1% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,640 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after buying an additional 44,033 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 22.6% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,630,000 after buying an additional 32,780 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Morgan Dempsey Capital Management LLC now owns 6,635 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $178,000 after buying an additional 539 shares in the last quarter. Finally, HighTower Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Sapiens International during the 3rd quarter worth $231,000. 30.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Sapiens International Company Profile

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.