Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) Downgraded by Zacks Research to “Hold”

Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) was downgraded by research analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on PERI. Craig Hallum downgraded Perion Network from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $11.70 price target for the company. in a report on Monday. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Perion Network from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, September 25th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Perion Network currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $13.30.

Perion Network Stock Performance

Perion Network stock opened at $11.45 on Tuesday. Perion Network has a 52 week low of $7.63 and a 52 week high of $11.46. The stock has a market capitalization of $446.89 million, a P/E ratio of -32.71, a PEG ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.83. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.05 and a 200 day simple moving average of $9.26.

Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The technology company reported $0.09 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. Perion Network had a positive return on equity of 2.43% and a negative net margin of 2.95%. The firm had revenue of $98.24 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $96.72 million. Research analysts forecast that Perion Network will post 0.45 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Perion Network

In other Perion Network news, Director Eyal Kaplan sold 2,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, October 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $8.72, for a total value of $25,427.52. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 51,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $446,690.72. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 6,767 shares of company stock valued at $58,970. Insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Headlands Technologies LLC boosted its position in shares of Perion Network by 282.5% in the second quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 39,577 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $384,000 after acquiring an additional 29,231 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in shares of Perion Network in the second quarter valued at about $532,000. Bank of America Corp DE increased its position in Perion Network by 101.3% during the first quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,480 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $245,000 after acquiring an additional 12,317 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada increased its position in Perion Network by 698.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,170 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $102,000 after acquiring an additional 8,897 shares during the period. Finally, Lazard Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Perion Network during the first quarter worth about $1,568,000. Institutional investors own 68.12% of the company’s stock.

Perion Network Company Profile

Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: PERI) is an Israel-based global advertising technology company that develops solutions for advertisers, publishers and commerce platforms. Its business is focused on helping clients plan, deliver, manage and measure digital advertising campaigns across search, social media, display, video, connected television and digital out-of-home channels.

The company operates through several technology and advertising platforms. These include Undertone, which provides digital media and creative advertising solutions; CodeFuel, which focuses on search monetization and website publishing tools; and Hivestack, a programmatic platform for digital out-of-home advertising.