Gartner (NYSE:IT) Shares Gap Down - What's Next?

Key Points

• Gartner's shares gapped down significantly, opening at $242.49 after closing at $336.71, indicating a drop in investor confidence.
• Analysts have downgraded Gartner's target prices, with Morgan Stanley reducing it from $490.00 to $455.00, contributing to an average target price of $482.57.
• Gartner reported an EPS of $3.53 for the quarter, beating expectations but showing a revenue of $1.66 billion, which fell short of the anticipated $1.68 billion.

Shares of Gartner, Inc. (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) gapped down prior to trading on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $336.71, but opened at $242.49. Gartner shares last traded at $231.62, with a volume of 580,430 shares trading hands.

Analyst Ratings Changes

IT has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Gartner from $490.00 to $455.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 31st. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their target price on Gartner from $622.00 to $535.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, May 7th. Barclays decreased their target price on Gartner from $510.00 to $475.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, April 21st. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price target on Gartner from $400.00 to $345.00 and set an "underweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 18th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their price target on Gartner from $500.00 to $480.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $482.57.

Gartner Stock Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $18.54 billion, a PE ratio of 14.97 and a beta of 1.19. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $391.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $435.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.64, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09.

Gartner (NYSE:IT - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 5th. The information technology services provider reported $3.53 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $3.38 by $0.15. Gartner had a return on equity of 96.70% and a net margin of 19.82%. The firm had revenue of $1.66 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.68 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $3.22 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 5.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Gartner, Inc. will post 12.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Gartner

In related news, EVP Akhil Jain sold 625 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $450.00, for a total transaction of $281,250.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 6,548 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,946,600. This trade represents a 8.71% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Robin B. Kranich sold 739 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $436.50, for a total value of $322,573.50. Following the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 20,464 shares in the company, valued at $8,932,536. This trade represents a 3.49% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 5,426 shares of company stock valued at $2,430,327. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Gartner

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of IT. Brighton Jones LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Gartner during the fourth quarter valued at $309,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd lifted its holdings in Gartner by 6.6% in the fourth quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd now owns 1,370 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $664,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the period. Russell Investments Group Ltd. lifted its holdings in Gartner by 15.7% in the fourth quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 49,728 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $24,100,000 after acquiring an additional 6,757 shares during the period. Federated Hermes Inc. lifted its holdings in Gartner by 165.9% in the fourth quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 170,709 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $82,703,000 after acquiring an additional 106,514 shares during the period. Finally, FMR LLC lifted its holdings in Gartner by 8.6% in the fourth quarter. FMR LLC now owns 2,822,122 shares of the information technology services provider's stock valued at $1,367,233,000 after acquiring an additional 223,087 shares during the period. 91.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Gartner

Gartner, Inc operates as a research and advisory company in the United States, Canada, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It operates through three segments: Research, Conferences, and Consulting. The Research segment delivers its research primarily through a subscription service that include on-demand access to published research content, data and benchmarks, and direct access to a network of research experts.

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