CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) Rating Lowered to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• CPI Card Group was downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a cautious view on its stock performance.
• The company's quarterly earnings report revealed a significant miss on earnings per share, at only $0.04 compared to the expected $0.56, alongside revenue that fell short of estimates.
• Despite recent rating changes, CPI Card Group has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" with a current target price of $34.00 according to market analysts.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS - Free Report) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Saturday morning.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of CPI Card Group to a "hold" rating in a report on Monday, August 11th. DA Davidson reduced their target price on shares of CPI Card Group from $38.00 to $32.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, August 12th. Finally, Lake Street Capital reduced their target price on shares of CPI Card Group from $35.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, August 11th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $34.00.

CPI Card Group Price Performance

Shares of PMTS stock traded down $0.29 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $14.89. The company had a trading volume of 40,315 shares, compared to its average volume of 83,924. The company's fifty day moving average is $20.74 and its 200 day moving average is $24.35. CPI Card Group has a fifty-two week low of $12.52 and a fifty-two week high of $35.19. The stock has a market capitalization of $168.85 million, a PE ratio of 13.29 and a beta of 1.31.

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

Insider Activity at CPI Card Group

In other news, Chairman H Sanford Riley acquired 10,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $15.75 per share, with a total value of $157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 31,033 shares in the company, valued at approximately $488,769.75. This trade represents a 47.54% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 2.80% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On CPI Card Group

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of PMTS. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in shares of CPI Card Group by 56.3% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 357,754 shares of the company's stock valued at $8,486,000 after purchasing an additional 128,808 shares during the last quarter. Vector Capital Management L.P. increased its position in shares of CPI Card Group by 38.4% in the 4th quarter. Vector Capital Management L.P. now owns 360,318 shares of the company's stock valued at $10,770,000 after purchasing an additional 100,000 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CPI Card Group in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $1,685,000. Manatuck Hill Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CPI Card Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,644,000. Finally, Ancora Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of CPI Card Group in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,615,000. 22.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.