PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) Shares Down 8.1% - Time to Sell?

Key Points

• PAR Technology shares fell 8.1% in mid-day trading, with the stock last changing hands at about $14.28 after trading below its prior close of $15.53.
• Despite the drop, the company’s latest earnings report showed better-than-expected results: EPS of $0.10 versus estimates of $0.07 and revenue of $123.97 million, up 19.4% year over year.
• Analyst sentiment remains mixed but constructive overall, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $30.67, even as several firms cut their targets sharply and insiders have recently sold shares.

PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) dropped 8.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as low as $14.34 and last traded at $14.2760. Approximately 773,274 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 55% from the average daily volume of 1,707,040 shares. The stock had previously closed at $15.53.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PAR has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BTIG Research decreased 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. William Blair reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of PAR Technology in a research note on Friday, March 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on shares of PAR Technology from $40.00 to $18.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 3rd. Needham & Company LLC decreased their price target on shares of PAR Technology from $30.00 to $25.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, April 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "sell (d-)" rating on shares of PAR Technology in a research report on Friday, March 27th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, one has issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $30.67.

PAR Technology Price Performance

The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $14.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $26.07. The company has a current ratio of 2.10, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.51. The stock has a market cap of $584.25 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of -7.57 and a beta of 1.32.

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, May 7th. The software maker reported $0.10 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.07 by $0.03. PAR Technology had a negative return on equity of 2.57% and a negative net margin of 16.04%.The company had revenue of $123.97 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $116.88 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted ($0.01) EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that PAR Technology Corporation will post -0.05 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at PAR Technology

In other PAR Technology news, CAO Michael Anthony Steenberge sold 2,342 shares of the company'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 transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 26,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,418.11. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan A. Menar sold 6,588 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total transaction of $115,224.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 64,893 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,134,978.57. This represents a 9.22% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 90,689 shares of company stock valued at $1,600,226. Company insiders own 3.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PAR Technology

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in PAR Technology by 8.0% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 20,446 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $1,255,000 after purchasing an additional 1,515 shares during the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of PAR Technology in the first quarter worth about $309,000. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. raised its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 4.6% in the first quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 20,012 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,228,000 after purchasing an additional 874 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in shares of PAR Technology by 186,466.7% during the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,597 shares of the software maker's stock worth $343,000 after purchasing an additional 5,594 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of PAR Technology by 28.5% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 231,494 shares of the software maker's stock worth $14,200,000 after purchasing an additional 51,316 shares during the period.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.