Rifat Kerim Akgonul Sells 2,000 Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) Stock

Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) insider Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.25, for a total transaction of $144,500.00. Following the transaction, the insider now owns 56,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,084,581.50. This trade represents a 3.42 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website.

Pegasystems Trading Down 6.5 %

PEGA opened at $68.14 on Friday. Pegasystems Inc. has a 12-month low of $54.55 and a 12-month high of $113.67. The company’s 50 day moving average is $92.56 and its 200 day moving average is $85.22. The company has a market cap of $5.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 67.47 and a beta of 1.25.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The technology company reported $1.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.47 by ($0.20). Pegasystems had a return on equity of 32.09% and a net margin of 6.63%. As a group, analysts predict that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.89 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Pegasystems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Securities Inc. boosted its holdings in Pegasystems by 150.5% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 278 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. True Wealth Design LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Pegasystems in the third quarter valued at about $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its position in Pegasystems by 85.6% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 323 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $30,000 after acquiring an additional 149 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in Pegasystems by 49.1% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 656 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after acquiring an additional 216 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in Pegasystems during the fourth quarter worth approximately $61,000. Institutional investors own 46.89% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently commented on PEGA. JMP Securities reiterated a “market outperform” rating and issued a $110.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems in a report on Thursday, February 13th. KeyCorp reiterated an “overweight” rating and set a $118.00 price target on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Tuesday, January 14th. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their target price on Pegasystems from $95.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 11th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on shares of Pegasystems from $90.00 to $115.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, January 3rd. Finally, Barclays lowered their target price on shares of Pegasystems from $103.00 to $97.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 14th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $99.36.

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.