StockNews.com Upgrades Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) to “Strong-Buy”

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) was upgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday.

PEGA has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays reduced their target price on Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 14th. JMP Securities reaffirmed a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, February 13th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 3rd. Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 11th. Finally, KeyCorp reaffirmed an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Tuesday, January 14th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $99.36.

Pegasystems Trading Up 0.3 %

Shares of PEGA opened at $78.38 on Monday. Pegasystems has a 12-month low of $54.55 and a 12-month high of $113.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.60 and a beta of 1.11. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $97.08 and a 200 day moving average price of $84.85.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a net margin of 6.63% and a return on equity of 32.09%. Equities research analysts predict that Pegasystems will post 1.89 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Pegasystems

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.60, for a total value of $71,139.20. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 36,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,489,226.40. This represents a 2.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 7,742 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.72, for a total value of $655,902.24. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 14,466 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,225,559.52. This trade represents a 34.86 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,745 shares of company stock valued at $2,001,989 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Invesco Ltd. grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 189.0% in the 4th quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,364,242 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $220,347,000 after buying an additional 1,546,281 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 23.7% during the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 860,361 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $80,188,000 after purchasing an additional 164,986 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Pegasystems by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 825,762 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $76,983,000 after purchasing an additional 6,480 shares in the last quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Fuller & Thaler Asset Management Inc. now owns 807,671 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $75,275,000 after purchasing an additional 4,989 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Shannon River Fund Management LLC boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Shannon River Fund Management LLC now owns 798,356 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $74,407,000 after purchasing an additional 9,989 shares during the period. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Pegasystems

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.