Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Downgraded by Wall Street Zen to "Hold"

Key Points

• Wall Street Zen downgraded Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) from a "Buy" to a "Hold" in a report released Saturday.
• Analyst coverage is mixed—three Buys, three Holds and one Sell—giving the stock a consensus rating of Hold and a consensus price target of $95.31.
• Piper Sandler recently reported a strong quarter—EPS $6.88 vs. $4.72 expected and revenue $635M, up 27.4% year-over-year—while the company disclosed a sizable insider sale by its president (20,960 shares).

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

Other analysts have also issued research reports about the company. Northland Securities upgraded Piper Sandler Companies from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and set a $87.50 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, March 4th. Zacks Research lowered Piper Sandler Companies from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday. Wolfe Research restated an "outperform" rating and set a $99.50 price target on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Wednesday, January 7th. Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Bank of America began coverage on Piper Sandler Companies in a report on Monday, January 26th. They set an "underperform" rating and a $96.25 price target on the stock. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $95.31.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

NYSE:PIPR opened at $83.62 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $78.25 and its 200 day moving average is $83.36. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $53.25 and a fifty-two week high of $95.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.96 billion, a PE ratio of 21.16, a PEG ratio of 1.83 and a beta of 1.48.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $4.72 by $2.16. Piper Sandler Companies had a return on equity of 21.85% and a net margin of 14.77%.The company had revenue of $635.00 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $516.52 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.20 EPS. Piper Sandler Companies's quarterly revenue was up 27.4% compared to the same quarter last year.

Insider Activity at Piper Sandler Companies

In other news, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 20,960 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.75, for a total transaction of $1,839,187.60. Following the transaction, the president owned 11,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,016,467.04. This trade represents a 64.41% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 2.70% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in PIPR. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the fourth quarter valued at $79,239,000. Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at $38,425,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at $28,752,000. Fiera Capital Corp purchased a new position in shares of Piper Sandler Companies during the third quarter valued at $28,338,000. Finally, North Reef Capital Management LP increased its stake in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 35.1% during the fourth quarter. North Reef Capital Management LP now owns 204,900 shares of the company's stock valued at $69,607,000 after buying an additional 53,193 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 72.79% of the company's stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies NYSE: PIPR is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.

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