Progress Software (NASDAQ:PRGS) Shares Gap Up After Earnings Beat

Shares of Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) gapped up before the market opened on Tuesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $51.51, but opened at $54.50. Progress Software shares last traded at $55.80, with a volume of 442,872 shares changing hands.

The software maker reported $1.31 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.04 by $0.27. The business had revenue of $238.02 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $235.64 million. Progress Software had a return on equity of 41.56% and a net margin of 9.08%. The company’s revenue was up 28.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.25 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on PRGS shares. StockNews.com downgraded Progress Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on Progress Software from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 6th. DA Davidson reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $75.00 price objective on shares of Progress Software in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Guggenheim reissued a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 target price on shares of Progress Software in a report on Friday, January 17th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Progress Software from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $74.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Ian Pitt sold 1,482 shares of Progress Software stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $56.60, for a total transaction of $83,881.20. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 7,613 shares in the company, valued at $430,895.80. The trade was a 16.29 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CFO Anthony Folger sold 15,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.30, for a total transaction of $844,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 44,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,508,953.20. The trade was a 25.18 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 17,482 shares of company stock valued at $984,621 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Progress Software by 149.5% during the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 494 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares in the last quarter. Orion Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Progress Software during the fourth quarter valued at about $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Progress Software by 893.5% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $50,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Progress Software by 55.4% during the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,736 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $113,000 after acquiring an additional 619 shares during the period. Finally, TD Private Client Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in Progress Software by 19.3% during the third quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $126,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares in the last quarter.

Progress Software Stock Up 8.0 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $2.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.71, a PEG ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a quick ratio of 0.81, a current ratio of 0.81 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.48. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $55.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $62.08.

About Progress Software

Progress Software Corporation develops, deploys, and manages business applications in the United States and internationally. The company offers OpenEdge, an application development platform for running business-critical applications; Chef, a DevOps/DevSecOps automation software; Developer Tools that consists of software development tooling collection, including .NET and JavaScript UI components for web, desktop and mobile applications, reporting and report management tools, and automated testing and mocking tools; Kemp LoadMaster, an application delivery and security product offering cloud-native, and virtual and hardware load balancers; and Sitefinity, a digital experience platform foundation delivering intelligent and ROI-driving tools for marketers.