Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Cantor Fitzgerald Analyst Says

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its target price hoisted by analysts at Cantor Fitzgerald from $165.00 to $200.00 in a research note issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the software maker’s stock. Cantor Fitzgerald‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 18.76% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on PCTY. Citizens Jmp boosted their price target on Paylocity from $150.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 20th. Barclays lifted their price objective on Paylocity from $154.00 to $162.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on Paylocity from $143.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 5th. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $177.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, August 20th. Finally, Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Paylocity from $168.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and five have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $174.88.

Paylocity Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of Paylocity stock opened at $168.40 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07, a current ratio of 1.09 and a quick ratio of 1.09. Paylocity has a 1 year low of $92.99 and a 1 year high of $178.53. The company has a market capitalization of $8.79 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.00 and a beta of 0.50. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $153.92 and a 200 day moving average price of $126.56.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 4th. The software maker reported $1.84 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.22. The firm had revenue of $444.73 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $431.46 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 27.02% and a net margin of 15.23%. Paylocity’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.56 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Paylocity will post 6.92 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Paylocity

In related news, Director Steven Sarowitz sold 19,459 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $157.78, for a total transaction of $3,070,241.02. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 4,453,495 shares in the company, valued at approximately $702,672,441.10. This represents a 0.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Chairman Steven R. Beauchamp sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $165.22, for a total transaction of $2,478,300.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chairman directly owned 1,243,389 shares in the company, valued at $205,432,730.58. This represents a 1.19% 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. Insiders sold 162,840 shares of company stock valued at $26,817,161 over the last quarter. Insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Paylocity

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Optiver Holding B.V. increased its holdings in Paylocity by 5,925.0% in the 1st quarter. Optiver Holding B.V. now owns 241 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 237 shares in the last quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC purchased a new position in Paylocity in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Paylocity by 4,250.0% in the 1st quarter. Basecamp Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 261 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 255 shares during the period. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 500.0% in the second quarter. Elevation Wealth Partners LLC now owns 342 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 285 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Parallel Advisors LLC grew its position in Paylocity by 58.8% in the first quarter. Parallel Advisors LLC now owns 451 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. 94.76% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Key Stories Impacting Paylocity

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: KeyCorp raised its price target for Paylocity from $178 to $190 and maintained an “overweight” rating, implying meaningful upside from the referenced share price. KeyCorp analyst rating
• Positive Sentiment: The bullish analyst view adds to other supportive targets, including Guggenheim’s $200 objective and BTIG Research’s $200 target with a “buy” rating. The analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy.”
• Positive Sentiment: Investors are looking ahead to Paylocity’s earnings announcement. Zacks said the company has factors that could support another earnings beat, following its latest quarter in which EPS of $1.84 exceeded the $1.62 consensus and revenue rose 11% year over year. Zacks earnings expectations article
• Neutral Sentiment: Paylocity shares have risen substantially from their 12-month low and are trading near the 12-month high. With a market capitalization of about $8.8 billion and a high level of institutional ownership, further gains may depend on earnings results and forward guidance.
• Negative Sentiment: Director Steven Sarowitz sold 8,900 shares for approximately $1.5 million on October 27 and another 100 shares for $17,023 on October 28. Both transactions were made under pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 plans, and he still owns more than 4.35 million shares, so the ownership reduction is minimal. Nevertheless, repeated insider selling could weigh modestly on sentiment. SEC insider transaction filing
• Negative Sentiment: Valuation is a risk after the stock’s strong advance, with Paylocity trading at roughly 30 times earnings based on the provided market data. Any earnings miss, weaker guidance, or signs that monetization is not accelerating could pressure the shares.

Paylocity Company Profile

Paylocity Holding Corporation (NASDAQ:PCTY) provides cloud-based human capital management (HCM) and payroll software for organizations. Its platform is designed to help employers manage payroll, human resources, employee benefits, talent acquisition, onboarding, performance, learning, and workforce administration through an integrated system.

The company also offers tools for time and labor management, scheduling, employee communications, engagement, surveys, expense management, and other workplace activities.