Paymentus (NYSE:PAY) Trading Down 7.7% on Analyst Downgrade

Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PAY) shares were down 7.7% during trading on Wednesday after StockNews.com downgraded the stock from a hold rating to a sell rating. The stock traded as low as $28.28 and last traded at $28.38. Approximately 157,953 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 51% from the average daily volume of 322,372 shares. The stock had previously closed at $30.75.

Several other research firms also recently commented on PAY. Robert W. Baird decreased their price objective on Paymentus from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price objective on shares of Paymentus from $23.50 to $33.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Paymentus from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Wedbush started coverage on shares of Paymentus in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company upped their price objective on shares of Paymentus from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 16th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, six have issued a hold rating, two have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Paymentus presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $31.83.

Insider Activity

In other news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 3,070 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total value of $98,178.60. Following the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 94,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,033,462.90. This represents a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Kalra sold 15,794 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, February 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total value of $505,250.06. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 466,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,908,459.65. This represents a 3.28 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Paymentus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its holdings in shares of Paymentus by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 709,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,207,000 after purchasing an additional 81,853 shares in the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Paymentus in the 3rd quarter worth $629,000. PDT Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Paymentus by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 48,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $964,000 after purchasing an additional 13,621 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Paymentus by 196.9% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 43,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $864,000 after purchasing an additional 28,628 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Paymentus by 1,569.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Paymentus Stock Performance

The firm has a market cap of $3.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 94.50 and a beta of 1.68. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $30.18 and a 200 day simple moving average of $28.49.

Paymentus Company Profile

Paymentus Holdings, Inc provides cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers electronic bill presentment and payment services, enterprise customer communication, and self-service revenue management to billers through a software-as-a-service technology platform.