Jefferies Financial Group Issues Pessimistic Forecast for Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) Stock Price

Key Points

• Jefferies Financial Group has reduced its price target for Progress Software from $60.00 to $50.00, maintaining a "hold" rating on the stock.
• Progress Software's average rating among analysts is "Moderate Buy", with a target price of $70.00, despite mixed ratings from various financial institutions.
• Following a quarterly earnings report that exceeded estimates, insider purchases reflect confidence in the company's potential growth, with directors acquiring shares at prices around $43.48 and $48.90.

Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS - Get Free Report) had its price target decreased by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from $60.00 to $50.00 in a report released on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "hold" rating on the software maker's stock. Jefferies Financial Group's price objective points to a potential upside of 17.34% from the stock's current price.

Several other research analysts have also recently issued reports on the company. Wedbush reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $75.00 price target on shares of Progress Software in a report on Friday, June 27th. DA Davidson lifted their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $70.00 to $75.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 1st. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $83.00 price objective on shares of Progress Software in a research report on Friday, June 27th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Progress Software from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Saturday, September 13th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $64.00 to $57.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Progress Software has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $70.00.

Progress Software Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ PRGS opened at $42.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.43, a quick ratio of 0.43 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.43. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $44.86 and a 200-day simple moving average of $53.60. The company has a market cap of $1.84 billion, a PE ratio of 32.53, a P/E/G ratio of 1.99 and a beta of 0.68. Progress Software has a 12-month low of $40.29 and a 12-month high of $70.56.

Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, June 30th. The software maker reported $1.40 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.10. Progress Software had a return on equity of 43.72% and a net margin of 6.63%.The business had revenue of $237.36 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $237.23 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.09 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 35.6% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Progress Software will post 4.01 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Rainer Gawlick acquired 1,710 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $43.48 per share, with a total value of $74,350.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 55,544 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,415,053.12. This represents a 3.18% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director David Krall acquired 5,125 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 23rd. The shares were bought at an average cost of $48.90 per share, with a total value of $250,612.50. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 100,090 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,894,401. The trade was a 5.40% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 3.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Maseco LLP acquired a new position in Progress Software in the second quarter worth about $28,000. Quaker Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Progress Software by 200.0% in the second quarter. Quaker Wealth Management LLC now owns 450 shares of the software maker's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 900 shares in the last quarter. Elevation Point Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in Progress Software in the second quarter worth about $41,000. Advisors Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Progress Software by 135.1% in the first quarter. Advisors Asset Management Inc. now owns 1,051 shares of the software maker's stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 604 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Osaic Holdings Inc. raised its position in Progress Software by 183.0% in the second quarter. Osaic Holdings Inc. now owns 985 shares of the software maker's stock worth $62,000 after purchasing an additional 637 shares in the last quarter.

Progress Software Company Profile

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.