Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Short Interest Up 71.5% in May

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of May. As of May 31st, there was short interest totalling 2,590,000 shares, an increase of 71.5% from the May 15th total of 1,510,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,060,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.4 days.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $69.75, for a total transaction of $139,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 21,245 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,481,838.75. This represents a 8.60% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 4,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $88.66, for a total value of $354,640.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 52,640 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,667,062.40. This represents a 7.06% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 106,015 shares of company stock worth $9,191,326. Insiders own 49.70% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Principal Securities Inc. raised its position in shares of Pegasystems by 150.5% during the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 85.6% during the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company's stock worth $30,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. CX Institutional bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Pegasystems by 139.7% during the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 50.5% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 599 shares of the technology company's stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 201 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PEGA has been the topic of several analyst reports. Wedbush reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $125.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, June 3rd. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $96.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, June 4th. Wall Street Zen upgraded Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $116.00 to $131.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upped their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $101.00 to $112.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Pegasystems has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $106.18.

Pegasystems Stock Performance

Shares of Pegasystems stock traded up $1.30 during trading on Monday, hitting $100.14. 460,629 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 768,166. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $89.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $89.25. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $55.90 and a twelve month high of $113.67. The stock has a market cap of $8.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 99.15 and a beta of 1.11.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, April 1st were issued a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.06%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 5.83%.

About Pegasystems

Pegasystems Inc develops, markets, licenses, hosts, and supports enterprise software in the United States, rest of the Americas, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia-Pacific. The company provides Pega Infinity, a software portfolio comprising of Pega Customer Decision Hub, a real-time AI-powered decision engine to enhance customer acquisition and experiences across inbound, outbound, and paid media channels; Pega Customer Service to anticipate customer needs, connect customers to people and systems, and automate customer interactions to evolve the customer service experience, as well as to allow enterprises to deliver interactions across channels and enhance employee productivity; and Pega Platform, an intelligent automation software for increasing efficiency of clients' processes and workflows.