International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM) Shares Down 1.3% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• International Business Machines (IBM) shares fell by 1.3% during mid-day trading, with a significant decline in trading volume, dropping from an average of 4.75 million to about 1 million shares exchanged.
• Recent analyst ratings show a mix of opinions on IBM, with targets ranging from $200 to $300, and an average target price of $268.75, indicating a "Moderate Buy" status overall.
• IBM posted strong earnings of $2.80 per share, exceeding expectations, with revenues up 7.7% year-over-year at $16.98 billion.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) shares dropped 1.3% on Thursday . The company traded as low as $235.62 and last traded at $237.06. Approximately 1,000,423 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 79% from the average daily volume of 4,754,633 shares. The stock had previously closed at $240.07.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on IBM. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $285.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 17th. Melius Research raised shares of International Business Machines to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 7th. Citigroup reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of International Business Machines in a research report on Saturday, May 10th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $270.00 to $310.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 2nd. Finally, Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on shares of International Business Machines from $237.00 to $233.00 and set an "equal weight" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, nine have issued a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, International Business Machines has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $268.75.

International Business Machines Price Performance

The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $273.29 and its 200 day simple moving average is $258.46. The firm has a market cap of $222.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 0.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91.

International Business Machines (NYSE:IBM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The technology company reported $2.80 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.65 by $0.15. International Business Machines had a net margin of 9.11% and a return on equity of 37.62%. The business had revenue of $16.98 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $16.58 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $2.43 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post 10.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of International Business Machines

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in IBM. Brighton Jones LLC raised its position in shares of International Business Machines by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 21,011 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $4,619,000 after buying an additional 2,323 shares in the last quarter. First Commonwealth Financial Corp PA purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $290,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board raised its position in International Business Machines by 1,165.2% in the 4th quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 223,065 shares of the technology company's stock worth $49,036,000 after purchasing an additional 205,434 shares during the period. Capital International Sarl purchased a new stake in International Business Machines in the 4th quarter worth about $931,000. Finally, GeoWealth Management LLC raised its position in International Business Machines by 9.1% in the 4th quarter. GeoWealth Management LLC now owns 6,495 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,428,000 after purchasing an additional 543 shares during the period. 58.96% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

International Business Machines Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides integrated solutions and services worldwide. The company operates through Software, Consulting, Infrastructure, and Financing segments. The Software segment offers a hybrid cloud and AI platforms that allows clients to realize their digital and AI transformations across the applications, data, and environments in which they operate.