Traders Buy Large Volume of Progress Software Put Options (NASDAQ:PRGS)

Progress Software Co. (NASDAQ:PRGS) saw some unusual options trading on Friday. Stock investors acquired 18,072 put options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 9,996% compared to the average daily volume of 179 put options.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

PRGS has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $83.00 price target on shares of Progress Software in a report on Friday, January 17th. DA Davidson reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $75.00 price target on shares of Progress Software in a report on Tuesday, January 21st. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on Progress Software from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 6th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Progress Software from $65.00 to $68.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, January 17th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Progress Software from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and six have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $72.43.

Progress Software Trading Up 0.7 %

PRGS traded up $0.39 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $54.61. 654,745 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 522,327. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $57.12 and a two-hundred day moving average of $62.21. The stock has a market capitalization of $2.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 3.48, a current ratio of 0.81 and a quick ratio of 0.81. Progress Software has a 52 week low of $48.00 and a 52 week high of $70.56.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Anthony Folger sold 15,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 owns 44,564 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,508,953.20. This trade represents a 25.18 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CAO Domenic Lococo sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $56.24, for a total value of $56,240.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,303 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $242,000.72. This represents a 18.86 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 17,482 shares of company stock valued at $984,621. Company insiders own 3.40% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. 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 worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 296 shares during the period. Orion Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Progress Software during the 4th quarter worth approximately $33,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Progress Software by 893.5% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 765 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $50,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew 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 grew its holdings in shares of Progress Software by 19.3% during the 3rd quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 1,863 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $126,000 after acquiring an additional 301 shares during the period.

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.