EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) Downgraded to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com downgraded shares of EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report released on Friday morning.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of EPAM Systems from $222.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Susquehanna decreased their target price on EPAM Systems from $260.00 to $240.00 and set a positive rating for the company in a research note on Friday, August 9th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a hold rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $237.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, September 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on EPAM Systems in a research report on Monday, June 24th. They set a neutral rating and a $200.00 price target for the company. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of Hold and a consensus target price of $258.32.

EPAM Systems Trading Down 2.7 %

Shares of EPAM stock opened at $192.99 on Friday. EPAM Systems has a 12-month low of $169.43 and a 12-month high of $317.50. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $200.69 and a 200 day moving average price of $208.52. The company has a quick ratio of 4.84, a current ratio of 4.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market capitalization of $11.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 26.40, a P/E/G ratio of 4.36 and a beta of 1.45.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, August 8th. The information technology services provider reported $2.45 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.26 by $0.19. EPAM Systems had a return on equity of 14.31% and a net margin of 8.86%. The company had revenue of $1.15 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.14 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $2.21 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 2.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that EPAM Systems will post 8.07 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

EPAM Systems declared that its Board of Directors has approved a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are often a sign that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On EPAM Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in EPAM. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 14,325.2% during the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 657,070 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $123,601,000 after buying an additional 652,515 shares during the period. Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new position in EPAM Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $84,850,000. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in EPAM Systems by 372.2% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 476,311 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $141,627,000 after acquiring an additional 375,439 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its stake in EPAM Systems by 80.0% during the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 595,486 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $112,017,000 after purchasing an additional 264,570 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of EPAM Systems by 47,294.2% in the 2nd quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 189,103 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $35,560,000 after acquiring an additional 188,704 shares during the last quarter. 91.58% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems, Inc provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, performance tuning, deployment, maintenance, and support services.