EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) Trading Down 4.5% – Time to Sell?

EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM)’s share price was down 4.5% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $171.01 and last traded at $172.69. Approximately 111,667 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 83% from the average daily volume of 647,962 shares. The stock had previously closed at $180.87.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on EPAM shares. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of EPAM Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $235.00 to $295.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on EPAM Systems from $305.00 to $288.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, January 21st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $265.00 target price on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Thursday, February 20th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on EPAM Systems from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $275.00 to $250.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EPAM Systems presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $262.47.

EPAM Systems Stock Up 2.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 2.96 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $226.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $221.45. The stock has a market cap of $9.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 22.40, a PEG ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 1.61.

EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 20th. The information technology services provider reported $2.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.75 by ($0.52). The company had revenue of $1.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.21 billion. EPAM Systems had a return on equity of 14.60% and a net margin of 9.61%. On average, research analysts anticipate that EPAM Systems, Inc. will post 8.9 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other EPAM Systems news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,078 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, January 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $257.00, for a total value of $277,046.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 23,382 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,009,174. This represents a 4.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 4.30% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EPAM Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Capital World Investors raised its stake in EPAM Systems by 22.0% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 2,304,243 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $538,778,000 after acquiring an additional 414,942 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its stake in shares of EPAM Systems by 39.8% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,181,143 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $510,053,000 after purchasing an additional 620,551 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in EPAM Systems by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,349,088 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $314,616,000 after purchasing an additional 37,119 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in EPAM Systems by 96.1% in the 4th quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 818,881 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $191,471,000 after buying an additional 401,355 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Marshall Wace LLP increased its stake in EPAM Systems by 126.4% during the 4th quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 769,584 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $179,944,000 after buying an additional 429,644 shares during the period. 91.58% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems, Inc provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, performance tuning, deployment, maintenance, and support services.