Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at BMO Capital Markets

Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO - Get Free Report) was upgraded by research analysts at BMO Capital Markets to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on FICO. Baird R W upgraded Fair Isaac from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 28th. Bank of America began coverage on Fair Isaac in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They set a "buy" rating and a $2,800.00 price objective for the company. Barclays dropped their target price on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,250.00 to $2,000.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,293.00 to $2,300.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Fair Isaac in a research note on Wednesday, May 21st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $2,263.29.

Fair Isaac Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of FICO stock traded down $43.68 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $1,540.70. The stock had a trading volume of 379,480 shares, compared to its average volume of 203,702. The firm has a market capitalization of $37.50 billion, a PE ratio of 66.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.54 and a beta of 1.28. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $1,855.28 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $1,865.49. Fair Isaac has a 52-week low of $1,484.29 and a 52-week high of $2,402.52.

Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $7.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.48. Fair Isaac had a negative return on equity of 51.41% and a net margin of 31.36%. The company had revenue of $498.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $500.45 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $6.14 EPS. Fair Isaac's revenue was up 15.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Fair Isaac will post 24.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Fair Isaac declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share repurchase program on Thursday, June 19th that permits the company to repurchase $1.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the technology company to repurchase up to 2.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are often an indication that the company's leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO William J. Lansing sold 6,010 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $1,767.82, for a total value of $10,624,598.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 42,138 shares in the company, valued at $74,492,399.16. The trade was a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, EVP Thomas A. Bowers sold 4,077 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $2,057.05, for a total value of $8,386,592.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president directly owned 9,974 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $20,517,016.70. This trade represents a 29.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 23,906 shares of company stock valued at $45,222,913. Insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Fair Isaac

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Fair Isaac by 41.7% during the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 17 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 5 shares during the last quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its position in Fair Isaac by 4.6% during the first quarter. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP now owns 113 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $209,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co increased its holdings in Fair Isaac by 1.0% during the fourth quarter. Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co now owns 608 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $1,210,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its position in Fair Isaac by 11.3% in the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 59 shares of the technology company's stock worth $109,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Fair Isaac by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 142 shares of the technology company's stock worth $262,000 after acquiring an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.75% of the company's stock.

Fair Isaac Company Profile

Fair Isaac Corporation develops analytic, software, and digital decisioning technologies and services that enable businesses to automate, enhance, and connect decisions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Scores and Software. The Software segment provides pre-configured analytic and decision management solution designed for various business needs or processes, such as account origination, customer management, customer engagement, fraud detection, financial crimes compliance, and marketing, as well as associated professional services.