Figure Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:FIGR) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Bank of America upgraded Figure Technology Solutions to Neutral from Underperform, raising its price target to $49 from $31. Shares opened at $40, up from the prior close of $38.26, while analysts’ consensus rating remains Moderate Buy with a $52.88 target.
• Recent quarterly results exceeded expectations: the company reported $0.35 in EPS versus a $0.24 consensus estimate on $218.45 million in revenue. Figure also posted a 33.45% net margin and 18.90% return on equity.
• Insiders have sold 80,767 shares worth approximately $2.54 million over the past 90 days, including sales by the CFO and another insider under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans; corporate insiders still own 26.6% of the stock.

Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. (NASDAQ:FIGR - Get Free Report) shares gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after Bank of America upgraded the stock from an underperform rating to a neutral rating. The stock had previously closed at $38.26, but opened at $40.00. Bank of America now has a $49.00 price target on the stock, up from their previous price target of $31.00. Figure Technology Solutions shares last traded at $39.5970, with a volume of 701,276 shares traded.

A number of other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Wall Street Zen upgraded shares of Figure Technology Solutions from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, August 15th. Mizuho lifted their price objective on shares of Figure Technology Solutions from $45.00 to $55.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, May 14th. Sanford C. Bernstein boosted their target price on shares of Figure Technology Solutions from $67.00 to $70.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Thursday, August 6th. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on Figure Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $65.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, July 15th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded Figure Technology Solutions from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, August 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, six have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Figure Technology Solutions has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $52.88.

Insider Activity at Figure Technology Solutions

In other Figure Technology Solutions news, CFO Minchung Kgil sold 8,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 24th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.69, for a total value of $309,520.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 483,651 shares in the company, valued at approximately $18,712,457.19. This represents a 1.63% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider David Stevens sold 47,650 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.38, for a total transaction of $1,495,257.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider owned 376,599 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $11,817,676.62. The trade was a 11.23% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 80,767 shares of company stock valued at $2,542,154. 26.60% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Figure Technology Solutions

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Figure Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. WPG Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Figure Technology Solutions by 71.1% during the 1st quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 934 shares of the company's stock valued at $32,000 after buying an additional 388 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio bought a new stake in shares of Figure Technology Solutions in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $34,000. MetLife Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Figure Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter worth approximately $35,000. Finally, Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in Figure Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $41,000.

Figure Technology Solutions Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.22, a current ratio of 1.86 and a quick ratio of 1.86. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.30 billion and a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.78. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $32.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $32.74.

Figure Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:FIGR - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 13th. The company reported $0.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.24 by $0.11. The company had revenue of $218.45 million for the quarter. Figure Technology Solutions had a net margin of 33.45% and a return on equity of 18.90%. On average, analysts expect that Figure Technology Solutions, Inc. will post 1.18 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Figure Technology Solutions

Figure is building the future of capital markets using blockchain-based technology. Figure's proprietary technology powers next-generation lending, trading and investing activities in areas such as consumer credit and digital assets. Our application of the blockchain ledger allows us to better serve our end-customers, improve speed and efficiency, and enhance standardization and liquidity. Using our technology, we continue to develop dynamic, vertically-integrated marketplaces across the approximately $2 trillion consumer credit market and the rapidly growing approximately $4 trillion cryptocurrency and digital asset market.

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