PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS) Short Interest Update

PagSeguro Digital Ltd. (NYSE:PAGS) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of August. As of August 31st, there was short interest totalling 17,770,000 shares, an increase of 15.7% from the August 15th total of 15,360,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 4,560,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 3.9 days.

PagSeguro Digital Trading Up 2.3 %

NYSE:PAGS traded up $0.21 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $9.23. 5,501,885 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 3,712,957. The firm has a market capitalization of $3.04 billion, a PE ratio of 8.23, a PEG ratio of 0.47 and a beta of 1.95. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $12.01 and a 200 day moving average price of $12.39. PagSeguro Digital has a 1-year low of $6.93 and a 1-year high of $14.98.

PagSeguro Digital (NYSE:PAGS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 20th. The company reported $0.32 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.31 by $0.01. PagSeguro Digital had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 14.97%. The firm had revenue of $874.38 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $816.34 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $0.26 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that PagSeguro Digital will post 1.19 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On PagSeguro Digital

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of PagSeguro Digital in the fourth quarter worth about $54,522,000. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda increased its holdings in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 247.4% during the fourth quarter. SPX Gestao de Recursos Ltda now owns 3,759,906 shares of the company’s stock worth $46,886,000 after purchasing an additional 2,677,659 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP lifted its position in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 55.5% during the 2nd quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 6,994,870 shares of the company’s stock valued at $81,770,000 after acquiring an additional 2,497,968 shares during the period. Millennium Management LLC raised its position in shares of PagSeguro Digital by 115.1% in the 2nd quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 3,813,901 shares of the company’s stock valued at $44,585,000 after buying an additional 2,040,704 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in PagSeguro Digital by 246.4% during the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 1,808,697 shares of the company’s stock worth $25,811,000 after purchasing an additional 1,286,490 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.88% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on PAGS shares. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $18.00 to $16.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded PagSeguro Digital from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $15.00 price target on the stock in a report on Wednesday, June 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $14.00 to $15.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, June 17th. Morgan Stanley reissued an “underweight” rating and set a $6.50 price target (down from $14.00) on shares of PagSeguro Digital in a report on Thursday, September 5th. Finally, UBS Group lowered their price target on shares of PagSeguro Digital from $16.50 to $15.50 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 8th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and seven have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $15.11.

PagSeguro Digital Company Profile

PagSeguro Digital Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, provides financial technology solutions and services for consumers, individual entrepreneurs, micro-merchants, and small and medium-sized companies in Brazil and internationally. The company's products and services include PagSeguro Ecosystem, a digital ecosystem that operates as a closed loop where its clients are able to address their primary day to day financial needs, including receiving and spending funds, and managing and growing their businesses; PagBank digital account, which offers payment and banking services through the PagBank mobile app, as well as centralizes various cash-in options, functionalities, services, and cash-out options in a single ecosystem; and PlugPag, a tool for medium-sized and larger merchants that enables them to connect their point of sale (POS) device directly to their enterprise resource planning software or sales automation system through Bluetooth.