Short Interest in Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Grows By 65.1%

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in June. As of June 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, an increase of 65.1% from the June 15th total of 878,100 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 488,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.0 days. Currently, 3.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.34, for a total value of $45,375.68. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 39,188 shares in the company, valued at $2,364,603.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Pegasystems news, insider Leon Trefler sold 752 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $60.34, for a total transaction of $45,375.68. Following the transaction, the insider now directly owns 39,188 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,364,603.92. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $60.39, for a total value of $120,780.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 22,884 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,381,964.76. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 16,504 shares of company stock worth $999,794. Corporate insiders own 50.10% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Diversified Trust Co bought a new position in Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $379,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Pegasystems by 6.6% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,004,116 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $217,229,000 after buying an additional 310,242 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Pegasystems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $201,000. Quent Capital LLC increased its position in Pegasystems by 1.8% in the 4th quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 12,846 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $628,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the period. Finally, Oak Thistle LLC grew its position in shares of Pegasystems by 59.1% in the 4th quarter. Oak Thistle LLC now owns 17,202 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $840,000 after buying an additional 6,390 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Pegasystems Stock Up 2.0 %

Shares of PEGA traded up $1.20 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $59.77. 329,019 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 495,340. Pegasystems has a 52 week low of $37.66 and a 52 week high of $69.26. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $59.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $57.82. The firm has a market cap of $5.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 72.89 and a beta of 1.08.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The technology company reported $0.18 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.20 by ($0.02). Pegasystems had a net margin of 5.32% and a return on equity of 45.00%. The firm had revenue of $330.15 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $339.70 million. Analysts forecast that Pegasystems will post 1.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 1st will be given a $0.03 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, July 1st. This represents a $0.12 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.20%. Pegasystems’s dividend payout ratio is currently 14.63%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have commented on PEGA shares. Citigroup cut their price target on Pegasystems from $87.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JMP Securities restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Pegasystems in a research report on Wednesday, June 12th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $66.00 to $69.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, April 23rd. Finally, Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $90.00 price objective on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Wednesday, June 12th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.71.

Pegasystems Company Profile

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.