CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) Lowered to Sell (D+) Rating by Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• CPI Card Group's stock rating was downgraded from "hold" to "sell" by Weiss Ratings, reflecting a negative outlook on the company's performance.
• The company's recent earnings report showed a significant miss on earnings per share, reporting just $0.04 compared to an expectation of $0.56.
• Insider trading activity includes a notable purchase by Chairman H Sanford Riley, who acquired 10,000 shares, increasing his ownership significantly.

CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Weiss Ratings from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a note issued to investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PMTS. Zacks Research raised CPI Card Group to a "hold" rating in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Lake Street Capital decreased their target price on CPI Card Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson decreased their target price on CPI Card Group from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered CPI Card Group from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, August 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $34.00.

CPI Card Group Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of PMTS stock traded up $0.01 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $15.22. 39,611 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 44,880. The firm has a market cap of $172.59 million, a P/E ratio of 13.59 and a beta of 1.38. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $15.60 and a two-hundred day moving average of $20.88. CPI Card Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.52 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19.

CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Friday, August 8th. The company reported $0.04 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.56 by ($0.52). The business had revenue of $129.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $132.96 million. CPI Card Group had a negative return on equity of 58.00% and a net margin of 2.66%. On average, equities analysts forecast that CPI Card Group will post 1.63 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other CPI Card Group news, Chairman H Sanford Riley acquired 10,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $15.75 per share, for a total transaction of $157,500.00. Following the purchase, the chairman directly owned 31,033 shares in the company, valued at $488,769.75. This trade represents a 47.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 2.80% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. US Bancorp DE bought a new position in CPI Card Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in CPI Card Group by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,928 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC bought a new stake in CPI Card Group during the 1st quarter valued at $101,000. IFP Advisors Inc increased its position in shares of CPI Card Group by 52.5% during the 2nd quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,342 shares of the company's stock valued at $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the period. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its position in shares of CPI Card Group by 130.4% during the 1st quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,800 shares of the company's stock valued at $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 22.08% of the company's stock.

About CPI Card Group

CPI Card Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, production, data personalization, packaging, and fulfillment of financial payment cards. It operates through Debit and Credit, and Prepaid Debit segments. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services to card-issuing financial institutions.

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