Barclays (LON:BARC) Shares Pass Above 200-Day Moving Average - Should You Sell?

Barclays PLC (LON:BARC - Get Free Report) shares crossed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday . The stock has a two hundred day moving average of GBX 286.88 ($3.88) and traded as high as GBX 328 ($4.43). Barclays shares last traded at GBX 327.05 ($4.42), with a volume of 18,592,467 shares changing hands.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

BARC has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reissued a "buy" rating and issued a GBX 350 ($4.73) target price on shares of Barclays in a research note on Monday, February 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Barclays from GBX 370 ($5.00) to GBX 410 ($5.54) and gave the stock a "top pick" rating in a report on Tuesday, March 25th. Shore Capital reissued a "buy" rating on shares of Barclays in a research note on Wednesday, April 30th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Barclays from GBX 320 ($4.33) to GBX 350 ($4.73) and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, March 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Barclays presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of GBX 340 ($4.60).

Barclays Stock Down 1.0%

The stock has a market cap of £46.80 billion, a PE ratio of 9.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.15 and a beta of 1.36. The company's fifty day moving average is GBX 295.15 and its 200 day moving average is GBX 287.13.

Barclays (LON:BARC - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 30th. The financial services provider reported GBX 13 ($0.18) EPS for the quarter. Barclays had a net margin of 19.54% and a return on equity of 6.97%. Equities analysts expect that Barclays PLC will post 39.1062802 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Barclays

In other news, insider C.S. Venkatakrishnan sold 185,862 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, March 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of GBX 292 ($3.95), for a total transaction of £542,717.04 ($733,698.85). 1.47% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Barclays

Barclays PLC provides various financial services in the United Kingdom, Europe, the Americas, Africa, the Middle East, and Asia. The company operates through Barclays UK and Barclays International division segments. It offers financial services, such as retail banking, credit cards, wholesale banking, investment banking, wealth management, and investment management services.