PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) Reaches New 52-Week Low - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• 52-week low: PAR Technology shares fell to as low as $12.48 and last traded around $13.52 on heavy volume, well below its 50-day and 200-day moving averages of $26.18 and $34.44.
• Analysts have cut price targets—Stephens and BTIG to $45, Needham to $30 and Goldman to $18—yet the consensus rating remains a Moderate Buy with an average target of $36.
• The company beat quarterly revenue ($120.1M) and EPS estimates but remains unprofitable (negative net margin and ROE) with analysts forecasting -1.47 EPS for the year, while insiders have been net buyers (notably Voss Capital purchased 65,100 shares).

PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week low on Friday . The stock traded as low as $12.48 and last traded at $13.5240, with a volume of 4532316 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $15.85.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on PAR shares. Stephens decreased their target price on shares of PAR Technology from $60.00 to $45.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of PAR Technology in a report on Monday, December 29th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on PAR Technology from $60.00 to $45.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Needham & Company LLC reduced their target price on PAR Technology from $55.00 to $30.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 27th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lowered their target price on shares of PAR Technology from $40.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, PAR Technology currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $36.00.

PAR Technology Stock Performance

The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market cap of $555.73 million, a PE ratio of -6.47 and a beta of 1.36. The business's 50-day moving average price is $26.18 and its 200-day moving average price is $34.44.

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 26th. The software maker reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of ($0.10) by $0.16. PAR Technology had a negative net margin of 18.54% and a negative return on equity of 2.32%. The business had revenue of $120.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.39 million. PAR Technology's quarterly revenue was up 14.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that PAR Technology Corporation will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Bryan A. Menar sold 1,636 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.27, for a total transaction of $29,889.72. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 63,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,705.39. The trade was a 2.52% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Voss Capital, Lp bought 65,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 4th. The stock was bought at an average price of $22.44 per share, with a total value of $1,460,844.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider directly owned 4,140,100 shares in the company, valued at $92,903,844. This represents a 1.60% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have acquired 722,237 shares of company stock valued at $21,772,998 and have sold 90,689 shares valued at $1,600,226. Insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PAR Technology

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Corient Private Wealth LLC raised its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 6.0% during the fourth quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 45,262 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,642,000 after purchasing an additional 2,572 shares during the last quarter. MidFirst Bank purchased a new stake in PAR Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $113,000. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 3.5% during the 4th quarter. T. Rowe Price Investment Management Inc. now owns 5,916,459 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $214,650,000 after acquiring an additional 201,782 shares during the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of PAR Technology by 17.3% during the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 44,255 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,606,000 after acquiring an additional 6,519 shares during the period. Finally, Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV acquired a new stake in shares of PAR Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $235,000.

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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