Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at StockNews.com

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 25th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $95.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Wedbush lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.90.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Shares of PEGA stock traded down $0.28 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $81.07. The company had a trading volume of 510,974 shares, compared to its average volume of 549,003. Pegasystems has a 12 month low of $44.00 and a 12 month high of $82.50. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $71.91 and a 200-day simple moving average of $65.17. The company has a market cap of $6.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 59.18 and a beta of 1.05.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $325.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $326.16 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 37.83% and a net margin of 8.29%. The company's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.14 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Pegasystems will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.88, for a total value of $698,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 357,058 shares in the company, valued at approximately $24,951,213.04. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 3,019 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $67.55, for a total transaction of $203,933.45. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 18,197 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,229,207.35. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Richard H. Jones sold 10,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $69.88, for a total transaction of $698,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 357,058 shares of the company's stock, valued at $24,951,213.04. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 40,565 shares of company stock valued at $2,998,565 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Trading of Pegasystems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 4.9% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,369,237 shares of the technology company's stock worth $347,067,000 after purchasing an additional 250,273 shares in the last quarter. Edgestream Partners L.P. purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the first quarter worth $1,161,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 309.5% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 130,281 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,422,000 after purchasing an additional 98,465 shares in the last quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 6.1% in the first quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 49,541 shares of the technology company's stock worth $3,202,000 after purchasing an additional 2,831 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the first quarter worth $2,038,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Company Profile

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.

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