Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) has been upgraded to a "strong-buy" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating increased optimism about the company's potential.
• Analysts are bullish on Pegasystems, with multiple firms raising their price targets, including DA Davidson, Loop Capital, and Citigroup, reflecting a positive outlook on its performance.
• Pegasystems reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings, with a 9.5% increase in revenue year-over-year, surpassing analyst expectations and confirming its growth trajectory.

Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Free Report) from a buy rating to a strong-buy rating in a research note published on Saturday.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on PEGA. Loop Capital lifted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $60.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. KeyCorp reduced their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $59.00 to $47.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. DA Davidson boosted their price objective 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. Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $50.00 to $58.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $60.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, June 3rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $61.83.

Pegasystems Trading Up 2.4%

NASDAQ:PEGA traded up $1.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $50.96. 1,903,522 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,020,649. The stock's 50-day moving average is $53.01 and its 200-day moving average is $46.10. The firm has a market cap of $8.72 billion, a PE ratio of 43.74 and a beta of 1.10. Pegasystems has a twelve month low of $29.84 and a twelve month high of $60.96.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 22nd. The technology company reported $0.28 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 analysts' expectations of $345.07 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 13.14% and a return on equity of 42.42%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Pegasystems will post 1.89 EPS for the current year.

Pegasystems Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 1st were paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This is a boost from Pegasystems's previous quarterly dividend of $0.02. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.2%. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio is currently 10.34%.

Insider Activity at Pegasystems

In other news, insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 9,879 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, July 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $57.82, for a total transaction of $571,203.78. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 78,560 shares of the company's stock, valued at $4,542,339.20. This represents a 11.17% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, insider John Gerard Higgins sold 23,660 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $51.12, for a total transaction of $1,209,380.90. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 38,026 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,943,698.99. The trade was a 38.36% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 307,196 shares of company stock valued at $17,609,187. Company insiders own 50.10% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Pegasystems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in PEGA. Spire Wealth Management lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 414 shares in the last quarter. CX Institutional purchased a new position in Pegasystems in the 1st quarter valued at about $36,000. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 320 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings 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 purchasing an additional 386 shares in the last quarter. Finally, UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in Pegasystems by 159.8% in the 2nd quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 730 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $40,000 after purchasing an additional 449 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.