DocuSign (NASDAQ:DOCU) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

DocuSign, Inc. (NASDAQ:DOCU - Get Free Report)'s share price gapped up prior to trading on Friday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $74.70, but opened at $81.52. DocuSign shares last traded at $86.44, with a volume of 4,122,687 shares traded.

The company reported $0.86 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.84 by $0.02. DocuSign had a return on equity of 14.90% and a net margin of 34.73%. The company had revenue of $776.25 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $760.94 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.76 EPS. DocuSign's revenue was up 9.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

DOCU has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reissued a "hold" rating on shares of DocuSign in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada reissued a "sector perform" rating and set a $90.00 price target on shares of DocuSign in a report on Friday. HSBC reaffirmed a "reduce" rating on shares of DocuSign in a report on Friday, December 6th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their target price on DocuSign from $70.00 to $73.00 and gave the stock an "underweight" rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Wedbush reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and issued a $100.00 target price on shares of DocuSign in a report on Friday. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have given a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $95.58.

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Insider Activity

In other news, Director Teresa Briggs sold 534 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $50,516.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,736 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $731,825.60. This represents a 6.46 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Allan C. Thygesen sold 40,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, January 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $90.04, for a total value of $3,601,600.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 156,050 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,050,742. The trade was a 20.40 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 104,422 shares of company stock valued at $9,665,394. Company insiders own 1.66% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. bought a new position in DocuSign in the third quarter worth approximately $28,000. Kestra Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of DocuSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Brooklyn Investment Group bought a new position in shares of DocuSign in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Modus Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of DocuSign in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of DocuSign by 102.6% in the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 397 shares of the company's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 77.64% of the company's stock.

DocuSign Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $87.97 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $79.37. The company has a market cap of $17.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.94 and a beta of 1.02.

About DocuSign

DocuSign, Inc provides electronic signature solution in the United States and internationally. The company provides e-signature solution that enables sending and signing of agreements on various devices; Contract Lifecycle Management (CLM), which automates workflows across the entire agreement process; Document Generation streamlines the process of generating new, custom agreements; and Gen for Salesforce, which allows sales representatives to automatically generate agreements with a few clicks from within Salesforce.