PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) Stock Price Down 6.7% - Here's What Happened

Key Points

• PAR shares fell about 6.7% mid-day to roughly $17.93 on Monday with volume down ~72% from average, while several brokers sharply trimmed price targets (e.g., Needham to $30, BTIG/Stephens to $45 and Goldman Sachs to $18) though the consensus remains a "Moderate Buy" with a $36 target.
• Quarterly results beat estimates—Q4 EPS $0.06 vs. ($0.10) expected and revenue $120.1M (+14.4% YoY) vs. $116.4M expected—but the company remains unprofitable (negative net margin and ROE, P/E listed as -8.61) and the stock is trading well below its 50- and 200-day moving averages.
• Mixed insider/institutional activity: recent insider sales by the CFO and CAO coincided with large insider purchases over the past 90 days (722,237 shares, ~$21.8M) and significant hedge fund accumulation, including major buys by Long Focus and Capital Research.

PAR Technology Corporation (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) fell 6.7% during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $17.34 and last traded at $17.93. 386,567 shares were traded during trading, a decline of 72% from the average session volume of 1,373,919 shares. The stock had previously closed at $19.22.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

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

PAR Technology Trading Down 6.8%

The business has a 50 day moving average of $27.76 and a two-hundred day moving average of $35.19. The firm has a market cap of $737.20 million, a P/E ratio of -8.61 and a beta of 1.36. The company has a current ratio of 1.66, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 26th. The software maker reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 firm had revenue of $120.10 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $116.39 million. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 14.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that PAR Technology Corporation will post -1.47 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at PAR Technology

In related news, CFO Bryan A. Menar sold 1,636 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $18.27, for a total value of $29,889.72. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 63,257 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,155,705.39. This represents a 2.52% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CAO Michael Anthony Steenberge sold 2,342 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $17.49, for a total transaction of $40,961.58. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 26,439 shares in the company, valued at approximately $462,418.11. This represents a 8.14% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders have purchased 722,237 shares of company stock worth $21,772,998 and have sold 97,189 shares worth $1,831,171. 3.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PAR Technology

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in PAR. Greenstone Partners & Co. LLC bought a new position in PAR Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $36,981,000. Long Focus Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of PAR Technology by 4,210.9% during the 3rd quarter. Long Focus Capital Management LLC now owns 877,575 shares of the software maker's stock worth $34,734,000 after acquiring an additional 857,218 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in shares of PAR Technology during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,274,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of 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 in the last quarter. Finally, Reinhart Partners LLC. increased its stake in PAR Technology by 45.6% in the fourth quarter. Reinhart Partners LLC. now owns 1,309,860 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $47,522,000 after acquiring an additional 410,183 shares during the last quarter.

PAR Technology Company Profile

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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