EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped down before the market opened on Thursday following a weaker than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $258.11, but opened at $235.34. EPAM Systems shares last traded at $221.40, with a volume of 365,836 shares traded.

The information technology services provider reported $2.23 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.75 by ($0.52). EPAM Systems had a net margin of 9.68% and a return on equity of 14.92%. The business had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.21 billion.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

EPAM has been the subject of a number of research reports. Citigroup increased their price target on EPAM Systems from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on EPAM Systems from $225.00 to $258.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on EPAM Systems from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. StockNews.com raised EPAM Systems from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. Finally, Mizuho increased their price target on EPAM Systems from $245.00 to $282.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, November 13th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, EPAM Systems has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $269.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Viktar Dvorkin sold 6,758 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $256.53, for a total value of $1,733,629.74. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 13,000 shares in the company, valued at $3,334,890. This represents a 34.20 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,078 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, January 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $277,046.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 23,382 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $6,009,174. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 8,300 shares of company stock worth $2,129,924 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of EPAM Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of EPAM. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the fourth quarter worth $173,053,000. William Blair Investment Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the fourth quarter worth $166,906,000. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,181,143 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $510,053,000 after acquiring an additional 620,551 shares in the last quarter. Marshall Wace LLP raised its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 126.4% during the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 769,584 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $179,944,000 after acquiring an additional 429,644 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 22.0% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,304,243 shares of the information technology services provider's stock worth $538,778,000 after acquiring an additional 414,942 shares in the last quarter. 91.58% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EPAM Systems Trading Down 7.2 %

The company has a fifty day moving average of $243.56 and a 200-day moving average of $222.23. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.56 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $11.85 billion, a PE ratio of 27.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.88 and a beta of 1.51.

EPAM Systems Company Profile

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.