Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS) Cut to "Hold" at Maxim Group

Key Points

• Maxim Group downgraded Paysign from “Buy” to “Hold.” Despite the downgrade, MarketBeat’s consensus rating remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average price target of $15.
• Paysign beat quarterly expectations, reporting EPS of $0.11 versus $0.09 expected and revenue of $30.8 million versus analyst estimates of $29.02 million.
• Company insiders sold a combined 259,904 shares worth about $3.4 million over the past three months; insiders still own 24.5% of the company.

Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Maxim Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on the company. Wall Street Zen cut Paysign from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report on Sunday, August 16th. Weiss Ratings raised Paysign from a "buy (b-)" rating to a "buy (b)" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective on Paysign from $12.00 to $15.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 30th. Barrington Research set a $15.00 target price on Paysign in a report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Lake Street Capital raised their target price on Paysign from $13.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Paysign presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $15.00.

Paysign Price Performance

PAYS opened at $10.14 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $572.52 million, a P/E ratio of 30.73 and a beta of 0.92. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $13.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $8.63. Paysign has a fifty-two week low of $3.08 and a fifty-two week high of $16.15.

Paysign (NASDAQ:PAYS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 9th. The company reported $0.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.09 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $30.80 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $29.02 million. Paysign had a net margin of 18.48% and a return on equity of 37.20%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paysign will post 0.58 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Paysign

In related news, insider Michael Ngo sold 79,925 shares of Paysign stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $12.74, for a total transaction of $1,018,244.50. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 2,350,000 shares of the company's stock, valued at $29,939,000. The trade was a 3.29% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CEO Mark Newcomer sold 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Friday, October 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $15.34, for a total value of $767,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 9,113,002 shares of the company's stock, valued at $139,793,450.68. This represents a 0.55% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 259,904 shares of company stock worth $3,402,424 in the last three months. Insiders own 24.50% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Paysign in the second quarter valued at approximately $25,219,000. Punch & Associates Investment Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paysign during the second quarter worth $16,983,000. AWM Investment Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Paysign during the second quarter worth $6,560,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Paysign by 17.4% during the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 1,531,072 shares of the company's stock worth $9,033,000 after purchasing an additional 227,300 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp acquired a new position in shares of Paysign in the 2nd quarter valued at $1,629,000. Institutional investors own 25.89% of the company's stock.

Paysign Company Profile

Paysign, Inc. provides prepaid card programs, payment processing and related financial technology services. Its platform supports organizations that need to distribute funds and manage payments, including businesses in the healthcare sector. The company serves plasma collection centers with donor compensation and payment solutions, and works with pharmaceutical companies on patient assistance and affordability programs. Its services also support payments for clinical trials and other disbursement needs.

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