Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Rating Lowered to Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) has been downgraded from a "strong-buy" to a "buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, reflecting a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the stock's outlook.
• In recent analyst reports, several firms have raised their price targets for Pegasystems, with a consensus target price now set at $61.83.
• In addition, the company reported quarterly earnings that exceeded expectations, with revenue of $384.51 million, an increase of 9.5% year-over-year.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) was downgraded by investment analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "strong-buy" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Sunday.

PEGA has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $56.00 to $59.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Monday, July 21st. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 23rd. JMP Securities lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $55.00 to $62.50 and gave the stock a "market outperform" rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Finally, DA Davidson lifted their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $60.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $61.83.

Pegasystems Price Performance

Shares of PEGA traded up $0.58 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $53.24. The stock had a trading volume of 1,031,952 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,087,821. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $53.16 and a 200-day simple moving average of $46.04. The firm has a market capitalization of $9.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 45.70 and a beta of 1.10. Pegasystems has a 1-year low of $29.84 and a 1-year high of $60.96.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider John Gerard Higgins sold 23,660 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the insider owned 38,026 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,943,698.99. The trade was a 38.36% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 11,147 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $58.19, for a total transaction of $648,643.93. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 119,868 shares in the company, valued at $6,975,118.92. This trade represents a 8.51% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 306,196 shares of company stock worth $17,559,562 in the last three months. Insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Pegasystems by 139.7% in the 1st quarter. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. now owns 549 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. Spire Wealth Management grew its stake in Pegasystems by 274.2% in the 2nd quarter. Spire Wealth Management now owns 565 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 50.5% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 599 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 201 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MAI Capital Management grew its stake in Pegasystems by 124.5% in the 2nd quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 696 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.