PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) Coverage Initiated at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Key Points

• JPMorgan Chase & Co. initiated coverage on PAR Technology with an underweight rating and a $12 price target, implying about 21.7% downside from the stock’s current price.
• PAR Technology’s latest quarterly results beat analyst expectations, with EPS of $0.10 versus $0.07 expected and revenue of $123.97 million versus $116.88 million forecast. Revenue also rose 19.4% year over year.
• Despite mixed analyst sentiment overall, the stock has an average Hold rating and a consensus price target of $28. The shares were trading higher on Friday at $15.32, while insiders have also recently sold shares.

JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on shares of PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) in a report issued on Friday. The firm set an "underweight" rating and a $12.00 price target on the software maker's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s price objective would suggest a potential downside of 21.69% from the stock's current price.

PAR has been the topic of several other research reports. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of PAR Technology in a research note on Friday, March 27th. Benchmark cut their price target on PAR Technology from $42.00 to $33.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, March 16th. Stephens dropped their target price on PAR Technology from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, February 27th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of PAR Technology from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 27th. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of PAR Technology in a research report on Friday, March 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $28.00.

PAR Technology Trading Up 3.1%

PAR opened at $15.32 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 1.83, a current ratio of 2.10 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. PAR Technology has a 52 week low of $11.59 and a 52 week high of $72.15. The stock has a market cap of $632.07 million, a PE ratio of -8.19 and a beta of 1.32. The business has a 50 day moving average of $13.93 and a 200-day moving average of $24.32.

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.10 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. The company had revenue of $123.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.88 million. PAR Technology had a negative return on equity of 2.57% and a negative net margin of 16.04%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 19.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned ($0.01) earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that PAR Technology will post -0.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CEO Savneet Singh sold 57,605 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total value of $1,007,511.45. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 252,537 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $4,416,872.13. This trade represents a 18.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CAO Michael Anthony Steenberge sold 2,342 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total transaction of $40,961.58. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 26,439 shares of the company's stock, valued at $462,418.11. This trade represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 90,689 shares of company stock valued at $1,600,226. 2.30% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PAR Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in PAR Technology by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,916,459 shares of the software maker's stock worth $214,650,000 after purchasing an additional 201,782 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in PAR Technology by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 3,304,052 shares of the software maker's stock worth $119,871,000 after buying an additional 12,250 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors raised its stake in PAR Technology by 17.3% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 3,237,004 shares of the software maker's stock worth $128,121,000 after acquiring an additional 476,839 shares during the period. Progeny 3 Inc. raised its position in shares of PAR Technology by 5.6% during the 1st quarter. Progeny 3 Inc. now owns 2,170,808 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $28,937,000 after purchasing an additional 114,500 shares during the period. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. lifted its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 45.6% during the 4th quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,309,860 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $47,522,000 after buying an additional 410,183 shares in the last quarter.

About PAR Technology

PAR Technology Corp is a provider of enterprise software and hardware solutions for the hospitality, foodservice and retail industries. The company's platforms are designed to streamline front- and back-of-house operations, covering point-of-sale (POS) systems, kitchen display and dispatch, inventory and labor management, and reporting tools. PAR's integrated approach enables operators of full-service restaurants, quick-service chains, bars, hotels, casinos and retail outlets to centralize data and automate workflows across multiple sites.

Key offerings include PAR Brink, a cloud-native POS application that supports touchscreen, mobile and tablet devices; PAR Cloud Services, which delivers software updates, reporting and analytics through a subscription model; and hardware solutions such as payment terminals, handheld devices and self-service kiosks.

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