Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Gap Up – Time to Buy?

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) shares gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday . The stock had previously closed at $98.44, but opened at $105.00. Pegasystems shares last traded at $103.61, with a volume of 398,423 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently commented on PEGA shares. Loop Capital reissued a “buy” rating and set a $105.00 price target (up from $85.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Thursday, April 24th. Barclays reissued a “positive” rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. DA Davidson upped their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $70.00 to $90.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 23rd. KeyCorp cut their price target on shares of Pegasystems from $118.00 to $94.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $100.00 to $120.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $100.27.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $78.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $87.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $8.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 102.50 and a beta of 1.14.

Pegasystems Cuts Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Tuesday, April 1st were given a $0.015 dividend. This represents a $0.06 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.06%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, April 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is currently 5.83%.

Insider Transactions at Pegasystems

In related news, CAO Efstathios A. Kouninis sold 500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.50, for a total value of $46,750.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 500 shares in the company, valued at $46,750. This represents a 50.00% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.93, for a total transaction of $185,860.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 19,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,811,670.35. This represents a 9.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 128,520 shares of company stock valued at $9,752,250. Corporate insiders own 49.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Bayforest Capital Ltd acquired a new stake in Pegasystems in the first quarter worth $250,000. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC lifted its position in Pegasystems by 18.0% in the 1st quarter. UBS AM A Distinct Business Unit of UBS Asset Management Americas LLC now owns 155,783 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,830,000 after acquiring an additional 23,713 shares in the last quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Pegasystems by 5.6% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 248,168 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $17,253,000 after buying an additional 13,075 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Pegasystems by 450.4% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,844 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $128,000 after acquiring an additional 1,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Pegasystems by 141,900.0% in the 1st quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 4,260 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 4,257 shares in the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is owned by 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.