Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Shares of Pegasystems Inc. (NASDAQ:PEGA) gapped down prior to trading on Thursday after an insider sold shares in the company. The stock had previously closed at $36.84, but opened at $34.95. Pegasystems shares last traded at $35.4870, with a volume of 283,850 shares traded.

Specifically, CAO Efstathios Kouninis sold 982 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $37.35, for a total transaction of $36,677.70. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 1,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $37,686.15. This represents a 49.32% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Dianne Ledingham sold 1,000 shares of Pegasystems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.00, for a total value of $38,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 39,280 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,492,640. The trade was a 2.48% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In other Pegasystems news, CFO Kenneth Stillwell sold 39,627 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, September 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.77, for a total transaction of $1,417,457.79. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 95,225 shares in the company, valued at $3,406,198.25. This represents a 29.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citizens Jmp cut shares of Pegasystems from an “outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Barclays reiterated an “overweight” rating and issued a $39.00 target price (down from $48.00) on shares of Pegasystems in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada set a $35.00 target price on shares of Pegasystems and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 23rd. Citigroup lowered shares of Pegasystems from a “market outperform” rating to a “market perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Finally, KeyCorp downgraded Pegasystems from an “overweight” rating to a “sector weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, seven have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Pegasystems has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $47.40.

More Pegasystems News

Here are the key news stories impacting Pegasystems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: JPMorgan’s revised $47 price target remains above Pegasystems’ recent trading level, indicating potential upside despite the bank’s neutral rating. The company also continues to benefit from recurring software demand and institutional ownership, including new and expanded positions reported by BlackRock, Geode Capital and First Trust. Pegasystems Shares Fall After JPMorgan Downgrade
• Neutral Sentiment: Pegasystems declared a quarterly dividend of $0.03 per share, equivalent to $0.12 annually and a yield of approximately 0.3%. The modest payout is unlikely to be a major near-term stock catalyst. Pegasystems Dividend News
• Neutral Sentiment: An analysis of the stock’s roughly 46% annual decline highlights long-term opportunities in low-code development, workflow automation, customer engagement and AI, but also points to valuation and execution risks. The broader analyst consensus remains Hold, with an average price target near $47.40. Pegasystems Stock Outlook Analysis
• Negative Sentiment: JPMorgan reaffirmed its neutral rating but cut its price target from $54 to $47. The reduction signals less confidence in near-term appreciation and appears to be the clearest immediate source of selling pressure. Pegasystems Shares Fall After JPMorgan Downgrade
• Negative Sentiment: Insiders sold shares recently: Chief Accounting Officer Efstathios Kouninis sold 982 shares, director Dianne Ledingham sold 1,000 shares under a Rule 10b5-1 plan, and Rifat Kerim Akgonul sold 7,000 shares. The transactions may weigh on sentiment, although planned sales do not necessarily indicate deteriorating fundamentals. Pegasystems Insider Selling
• Negative Sentiment: In its latest reported quarter, Pegasystems missed consensus estimates for both EPS and revenue, despite revenue increasing 9.4% year over year. That performance continues to raise concerns about execution and the pace of growth.

Pegasystems Price Performance

The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $33.25 and its 200-day simple moving average is $35.85. The firm has a market cap of $5.76 billion, a PE ratio of 19.80 and a beta of 0.89.

Pegasystems (NASDAQ:PEGA) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 21st. The technology company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.43 by ($0.08). The company had revenue of $420.72 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $427.38 million. Pegasystems had a net margin of 18.66% and a return on equity of 32.21%. Pegasystems’s quarterly revenue was up 9.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.28 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Pegasystems Inc. will post 1.66 earnings per share for the current year.

Pegasystems Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, October 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, October 1st will be paid a dividend of $0.03 per share. This represents a $0.12 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.3%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, October 1st. Pegasystems’s payout ratio is presently 6.78%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Pegasystems by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 8,378 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $500,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System lifted its stake in Pegasystems by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 22,000 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $936,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the period. Diversified Trust Co boosted its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Diversified Trust Co now owns 11,364 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $484,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares during the last quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 2.2% during the first quarter. Oregon Public Employees Retirement Fund now owns 18,700 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $796,000 after purchasing an additional 400 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State of Wyoming raised its holdings in shares of Pegasystems by 3.4% during the first quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 12,709 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $541,000 after purchasing an additional 423 shares during the last quarter. 46.89% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Pegasystems Company Profile

Pegasystems Inc develops enterprise software for customer engagement, workflow automation and business process management. Its solutions help organizations manage customer service, sales, marketing, operations and back-office processes across digital and traditional channels.

The company’s product portfolio includes Pega Platform, a low-code application development and automation platform; Pega Customer Service and Pega Sales; Pega Customer Decision Hub for real-time, personalized customer engagement; and tools for case management, robotic process automation and artificial intelligence.