EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) Upgraded by StockNews.com to “Buy” Rating

StockNews.com upgraded shares of EPAM Systems (NYSE:EPAM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report released on Friday morning.

EPAM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on EPAM Systems from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, October 28th. Susquehanna increased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $240.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “positive” rating in a report on Friday, November 8th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of EPAM Systems from $200.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of EPAM Systems from $222.00 to $262.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, September 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They issued a “hold” rating and a $204.00 price target on the stock. Eight investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, EPAM Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $264.20.

EPAM Systems Stock Performance

EPAM traded down $9.57 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $235.29. The company had a trading volume of 851,851 shares, compared to its average volume of 623,844. EPAM Systems has a 1 year low of $169.43 and a 1 year high of $317.50. The company has a quick ratio of 4.56, a current ratio of 4.56 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01. The company has a market cap of $13.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.46. The business has a 50-day moving average of $203.19 and a two-hundred day moving average of $198.36.

EPAM Systems announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, August 8th that permits the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization permits the information technology services provider to purchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are often a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total value of $237,000.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 24,836 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,886,132. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 4.30% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On EPAM Systems

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of EPAM. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of EPAM Systems by 0.6% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,865,123 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,895,872,000 after purchasing an additional 39,531 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in EPAM Systems by 14,325.2% in the 2nd quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 657,070 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $123,601,000 after buying an additional 652,515 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc grew its stake in EPAM Systems by 80.0% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 595,486 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $112,017,000 after acquiring an additional 264,570 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of EPAM Systems by 45.4% during the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 515,351 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $102,570,000 after acquiring an additional 160,989 shares during the period. Finally, Manning & Napier Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of EPAM Systems during the second quarter valued at approximately $84,850,000. Institutional investors own 91.58% of the company’s stock.

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.