Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) Shares Gap Up - Time to Buy?

Shares of Fair Isaac Co. (NYSE:FICO - Get Free Report) gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $1,503.62, but opened at $1,543.58. Fair Isaac shares last traded at $1,602.22, with a volume of 133,887 shares changing hands.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on FICO shares. Jefferies Financial Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $2,500.00 price target (up previously from $2,225.00) on shares of Fair Isaac in a research report on Wednesday, May 14th. Bank of America started coverage on shares of Fair Isaac in a research report on Thursday, April 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $2,800.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,116.00 to $2,293.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 8th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,650.00 to $2,600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,350.00 to $2,250.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $2,304.15.

Fair Isaac Trading Up 7.2%

The company's 50 day moving average is $1,912.34 and its 200 day moving average is $1,971.33. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.40.

Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 29th. The technology company reported $7.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.48. Fair Isaac had a net margin of 30.66% and a negative return on equity of 53.40%. The company had revenue of $498.74 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $500.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $6.14 earnings per share. Fair Isaac's quarterly revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts anticipate that Fair Isaac Co. will post 24.15 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Fair Isaac

In related news, CEO William J. Lansing sold 4,092 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,727.69, for a total transaction of $7,069,707.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 42,138 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $72,801,401.22. The trade was a 8.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at 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 transaction of $8,386,592.85. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 9,974 shares in the company, valued at approximately $20,517,016.70. This represents a 29.02% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,933 shares of company stock worth $35,250,629 over the last ninety days. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Fair Isaac

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in FICO. Intech Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac by 22.3% in the first quarter. Intech Investment Management LLC now owns 35,091 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $64,713,000 after purchasing an additional 6,389 shares in the last quarter. Focus Partners Wealth lifted its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac by 2.5% in the first quarter. Focus Partners Wealth now owns 43,149 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $79,574,000 after purchasing an additional 1,048 shares in the last quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac by 417.1% in the first quarter. Bayforest Capital Ltd now owns 393 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $725,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Fair Isaac by 2.5% in the first quarter. Alaethes Wealth LLC now owns 1,397 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,576,000 after purchasing an additional 34 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SCS Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Fair Isaac in the first quarter valued at about $312,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.75% of the company's stock.

About Fair Isaac

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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