Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Hits New 12-Month High - What's Next?

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday . The company traded as high as $91.67 and last traded at $91.25, with a volume of 215469 shares. The stock had previously closed at $89.50.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

PEGA has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. JMP Securities raised Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $85.00 target price on the stock in a report on Wednesday, July 31st. William Blair upgraded Pegasystems from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $77.00 to $90.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Wedbush lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $100.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $87.00 to $92.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 25th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $85.90.

Pegasystems Trading Up 2.3 %

The business's 50 day simple moving average is $76.82 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $67.59. The firm has a market capitalization of $7.85 billion, a PE ratio of 65.38 and a beta of 1.06.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.39 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.35 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 8.29% and a return on equity of 37.83%. The company had revenue of $325.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $326.16 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.14 earnings per share. Pegasystems's revenue for the quarter was down 2.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.61 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, October 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, October 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.13%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, October 1st. Pegasystems's payout ratio is currently 8.76%.

Insider Activity

In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 528 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $83.00, for a total value of $43,824.00. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 750 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $71.00, for a total transaction of $53,250.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 2 shares in the company, valued at approximately $142. This trade represents a 99.73 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 33,345 shares of company stock worth $2,507,284 over the last quarter. 50.10% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. True Wealth Design LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at $27,000. Venturi Wealth Management LLC raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 49.1% in the third quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 216 shares during the last quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc boosted its position in Pegasystems by 15,120.0% during the second quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 761 shares of the technology company's stock worth $46,000 after acquiring an additional 756 shares during the last quarter. Financial Management Professionals Inc. purchased a new stake in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $57,000. Finally, Capital Performance Advisors LLP acquired a new position in Pegasystems in the 3rd quarter valued at $67,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

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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