Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Loop Capital Analyst Says

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by analysts at Loop Capital from $60.00 to $70.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "buy" rating on the technology company's stock. Loop Capital's target price suggests a potential upside of 16.76% from the stock's previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on PEGA. Barclays increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $66.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday. DA Davidson increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities increased their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have given a buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $59.80.

Pegasystems Trading Up 1.9%

Pegasystems stock traded up $1.12 on Thursday, reaching $59.95. 1,952,518 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,038,448. The stock has a market cap of $10.26 billion, a PE ratio of 51.46 and a beta of 1.13. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $29.84 and a twelve month high of $60.26. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $51.29 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $45.65.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.04. Pegasystems had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The company had revenue of $384.51 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $345.07 million. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.26 EPS. The business's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 1,196 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $51.50, for a total value of $61,594.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 332 shares in the company, valued at approximately $17,098. This trade represents a 78.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, insider John Gerard Higgins sold 23,660 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total value of $1,209,380.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 38,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,943,698.99. This trade represents a 38.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 241,588 shares of company stock valued at $13,769,343. Insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. CX Institutional acquired a new position in shares of Pegasystems during the first quarter valued at $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 139.7% during the first quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 320 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 50.5% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 599 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 201 shares during the period. UMB Bank n.a. grew its holdings in Pegasystems by 159.8% during the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 730 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after acquiring an additional 449 shares during the period. Finally, Headlands Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in Pegasystems during the 1st quarter worth $57,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 46.89% of the company's stock.

Pegasystems Company Profile

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.