Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) Lifted to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS – Get Rating) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Saturday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Needham & Company LLC lifted their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Thursday, December 1st. They set an “underweight” rating and a $20.00 target price on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group cut their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $28.00 to $26.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, February 21st. Finally, Barclays boosted their price objective on shares of Sapiens International from $22.00 to $24.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 22nd. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have given a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $23.80.

Sapiens International Price Performance

SPNS stock opened at $19.50 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $21.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $20.06. Sapiens International has a 12-month low of $16.18 and a 12-month high of $26.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $1.07 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.74 and a beta of 1.28. The company has a current ratio of 1.95, a quick ratio of 1.88 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.15.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 21st. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.32 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $119.46 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $120.86 million. Sapiens International had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 16.16%. Sapiens International’s revenue was up .2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.30 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Sapiens International will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SG Americas Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Sapiens International in the second quarter worth approximately $102,000. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 402.5% in the third quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 6,508 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $124,000 after buying an additional 5,213 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 546.2% in the fourth quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 8,652 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $160,000 after buying an additional 7,313 shares in the last quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA lifted its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 21.6% in the second quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 7,046 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $170,000 after buying an additional 1,253 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp raised its holdings in shares of Sapiens International by 33.3% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 9,747 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $180,000 after purchasing an additional 2,435 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 23.42% of the company’s stock.

Sapiens International Company Profile

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Sapiens International Corp. NV provides software solutions for the insurance industry. It offers core, end-to-end solutions to the global general insurance, property and casualty, life, pension and annuities, reinsurance and retirement markets, as well as business decision management software. The company was founded by Joseph Bolless and Ron Zuckerman in 1982 and is headquartered in Holon, Israel.