SAP (NYSE:SAP) Sees Large Volume Increase - Here's Why

Shares of SAP SE (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) saw unusually-strong trading volume on Friday . Approximately 1,327,102 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 53% from the previous session's volume of 864,580 shares.The stock last traded at $274.02 and had previously closed at $279.34.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of analysts have weighed in on SAP shares. TD Cowen raised shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their price target for the company from $240.00 to $305.00 in a report on Friday, January 17th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of SAP from $283.00 to $286.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $38.00 price objective on shares of SAP in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Kepler Capital Markets raised shares of SAP from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Finally, JMP Securities raised their price objective on shares of SAP from $300.00 to $330.00 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, January 29th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to data from MarketBeat.com, SAP has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $248.83.

SAP Stock Down 1.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.16, a quick ratio of 1.10 and a current ratio of 1.12. The stock has a market cap of $339.60 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 96.32, a PEG ratio of 4.71 and a beta of 1.25. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $272.04 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $246.32.

Remove Ads

SAP (NYSE:SAP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, January 28th. The software maker reported $1.49 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.02). SAP had a net margin of 9.17% and a return on equity of 12.18%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that SAP SE will post 6.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in shares of SAP by 0.8% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 611,572 shares of the software maker's stock worth $140,111,000 after buying an additional 4,775 shares during the period. CWA Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SAP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $356,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of SAP by 10.8% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,326 shares of the software maker's stock worth $304,000 after buying an additional 129 shares during the period. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. grew its position in shares of SAP by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 91,375 shares of the software maker's stock worth $20,934,000 after buying an additional 29,364 shares during the period. Finally, Aptus Capital Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SAP during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $206,000.

About SAP

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.