Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Stock Crosses Above Two Hundred Day Moving Average - What's Next?

Key Points

• Pegasystems shares crossed above their 200-day moving average, reaching $36.53 before last trading at $34.91, near the $34.68 long-term average.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: the stock carries a consensus “Hold” rating from MarketBeat, with a consensus price target of $47.40 after several recent downgrades.
• The company’s latest quarterly results missed expectations, reporting $0.35 in EPS versus $0.43 expected and revenue of $420.72 million versus $427.38 million forecast; Pegasystems also declared a $0.03 quarterly dividend.

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report)'s share price passed above its two hundred day moving average during trading on Monday. The stock has a two hundred day moving average of $34.68 and traded as high as $36.53. Pegasystems shares last traded at $34.91, with a volume of 1,403,801 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on PEGA. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reiterated a "neutral" rating and set a $47.00 price objective (down from $54.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, September 17th. Citigroup lowered shares of Pegasystems from a "market outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Pegasystems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Tuesday, September 22nd. Loop Capital cut shares of Pegasystems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price target for the company from $55.00 to $25.00 in a research report on Thursday, July 23rd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Pegasystems from an "overweight" rating to a "sector weight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 22nd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $47.40.

Pegasystems Trading Down 2.1%

The firm has a market capitalization of $5.74 billion, a PE ratio of 19.72 and a beta of 0.89. The business has a 50-day moving average of $34.63 and a 200 day moving average of $34.68.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.08). The firm had revenue of $420.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $427.38 million. Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.21% and a net margin of 18.66%. Pegasystems's revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.69 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Investors of record on Thursday, October 1st will be given a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, October 1st. Pegasystems's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 6.78%.

Insider Activity

In other Pegasystems news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 1,063 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.75, for a total value of $41,191.25. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 1,164 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,105. This trade represents a 47.73% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 39,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total transaction of $1,417,457.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 95,225 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,406,198.25. This trade represents a 29.39% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 53,672 shares of company stock valued at $1,921,657 in the last three months. 48.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of PEGA. Signature Equity Partners LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 302.2% in the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 929 shares of the technology company's stock worth $40,000 after purchasing an additional 698 shares during the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter valued at $41,000. Allworth Financial LP purchased a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter valued at $42,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 21.6% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,597 shares of the technology company's stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 284 shares during the period. Finally, Northwestern Mutual Wealth Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Pegasystems during the 2nd quarter worth $62,000. 46.89% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Pegasystems Company Profile

Pegasystems Inc is an enterprise software company that develops applications for customer engagement, business process management and workflow automation. Its software is designed to help organizations manage complex operations, improve customer service and automate decision-making across departments and channels.

The company's product portfolio includes Pega Platform, a low-code application development and process automation platform, as well as solutions for customer relationship management, customer service, sales automation, marketing, fraud detection and case management.

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