Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Lowered to Hold Rating by Wall Street Zen

Key Points

• Piper Sandler Companies has been downgraded from a "buy" to a "hold" rating by Wall Street Zen, indicating a shift in analyst sentiment regarding the stock.
• The stock currently has an average target price of $312.50 and has shown a year-over-year revenue increase of 13.4%, reflecting strong earnings performance.
• Insiders sold a total of 26,136 shares valued at over $8.3 million in the last three months, which may signal caution among key company executives regarding future stock performance.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report released on Saturday.

Several other analysts also recently weighed in on the company. JMP Securities restated a "market perform" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, May 5th. Wolfe Research raised Piper Sandler Companies from a "peer perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $339.00 target price on the stock in a report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Piper Sandler Companies has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $312.50.

Piper Sandler Companies Price Performance

Shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock traded up $8.95 during trading on Friday, hitting $331.32. The company's stock had a trading volume of 88,034 shares, compared to its average volume of 116,272. The business's fifty day moving average price is $315.47. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.96 and a beta of 1.45. Piper Sandler Companies has a 52 week low of $202.91 and a 52 week high of $351.80.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, August 1st. The financial services provider reported $2.95 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.99 by $0.96. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 13.18% and a return on equity of 18.67%. The business had revenue of $405.39 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $349.40 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $2.52 earnings per share. Piper Sandler Companies's quarterly revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Piper Sandler Companies will post 14.14 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In related news, CEO Chad R. Abraham sold 8,000 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $323.71, for a total value of $2,589,680.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 53,558 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,337,260.18. The trade was a 13.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, Director Scott C. Taylor sold 2,600 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $319.86, for a total value of $831,636.00. Following the sale, the director owned 16,319 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $5,219,795.34. This represents a 13.74% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 26,136 shares of company stock valued at $8,380,342 in the last quarter. 2.70% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Piper Sandler Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PIPR. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. bought a new position in Piper Sandler Companies in the 1st quarter worth approximately $215,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 1.4% during the first quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 6,704 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $1,660,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 58.8% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 440 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $109,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares in the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp increased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 156,751 shares of the financial services provider's stock valued at $38,821,000 after acquiring an additional 992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. lifted its stake in Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% in the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 2,015 shares of the financial services provider's stock worth $499,000 after purchasing an additional 210 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

Piper Sandler Companies Company Profile

Piper Sandler Companies operates as an investment bank and institutional securities firm that serves corporations, private equity groups, public entities, non-profit entities, and institutional investors in the United States and internationally. It offers investment banking services and institutional sales, trading, and research services for various equity and fixed income products; advisory services, such as mergers and acquisitions, equity and debt private placements, and debt and restructuring advisory; raises capital through equity and debt financings; underwrites municipal issuances; and municipal financial advisory and loan placement services, as well as various over-the-counter derivative products.