Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) Shares Gap Up on Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Fair Isaac Corporation's shares rose significantly after Barclays upgraded its price target from $2,000 to $2,400, with the stock opening at $1,785.50 compared to a previous close of $1,512.71.
• The stock currently has a consensus rating of Buy and a price target of $2,130.29, according to analysts, with multiple firms issuing differing ratings, including a "strong-buy" from Seaport Res Ptn.
• CEO William J. Lansing sold over 6,000 shares at an average price of $1,537.50, reducing his ownership by 12.48%, while corporate insiders have sold a total of 18,032 shares recently.

Fair Isaac Corporation (NYSE:FICO - Get Free Report)'s stock price gapped up before the market opened on Thursday after Barclays raised their price target on the stock from $2,000.00 to $2,400.00. The stock had previously closed at $1,512.71, but opened at $1,785.50. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the stock. Fair Isaac shares last traded at $1,884.45, with a volume of 542,035 shares changing hands.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $1,950.00 target price on shares of Fair Isaac in a research note on Thursday. UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $1,590.00 to $1,640.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Monday, September 15th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Fair Isaac to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Oppenheimer decreased their price target on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,300.00 to $1,953.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, July 31st. Finally, Griffin Securities set a $1,800.00 price objective on Fair Isaac in a research note on Monday, August 18th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and two have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,130.29.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO William J. Lansing sold 6,011 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,537.50, for a total value of $9,241,912.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 42,138 shares in the company, valued at approximately $64,787,175. This trade represents a 12.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold 18,032 shares of company stock valued at $28,153,015 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 3.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of FICO. Meeder Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac by 41.7% in the 1st quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 17 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Baker Avenue Asset Management LP grew its holdings in Fair Isaac by 4.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. City Holding Co. raised its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac by 11.3% in the first quarter. City Holding Co. now owns 59 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $109,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its position in 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 buying an additional 6 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Forum Financial Management LP raised its stake in shares of Fair Isaac by 2.2% during the 1st quarter. Forum Financial Management LP now owns 275 shares of the technology company's stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 6 shares in the last quarter. 85.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Fair Isaac Stock Performance

The stock's fifty day moving average price is $1,464.77 and its 200-day moving average price is $1,703.46. The firm has a market cap of $45.08 billion, a PE ratio of 73.45, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 1.36.

Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 30th. The technology company reported $8.57 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $7.75 by $0.82. The firm had revenue of $536.42 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $520.40 million. Fair Isaac had a negative return on equity of 48.88% and a net margin of 32.80%.The company's quarterly revenue was up 19.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.25 EPS. Fair Isaac has set its FY 2025 guidance at 29.150-29.150 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Fair Isaac Corporation will post 24.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Fair Isaac declared that its Board of Directors has initiated a share repurchase plan on Thursday, June 19th that permits the company to buyback $1.00 billion in shares. This buyback authorization permits the technology company to purchase up to 2.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback plans are generally an indication that the company's board believes its stock is undervalued.

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.

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