Fair Isaac (NYSE:FICO) Sets New 1-Year High on Strong Earnings

Fair Isaac Co. (NYSE:FICO) shares hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock traded as high as $2,016.78 and last traded at $1,990.43, with a volume of 270007 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $1,961.50.

The technology company reported $7.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $7.33 by $0.48. Fair Isaac had a net margin of 30.66% and a negative return on equity of 53.40%. The firm had revenue of $498.74 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $500.45 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $6.14 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 15.0% on a year-over-year basis.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,515.00 to $2,409.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, January 7th. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Fair Isaac from $2,650.00 to $2,600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,350.00 to $2,250.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 4th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Fair Isaac from $2,275.00 to $2,175.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 5th. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on Fair Isaac from $2,030.00 to $2,230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $2,277.46.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO William J. Lansing sold 4,092 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,727.69, for a total value of $7,069,707.48. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 42,138 shares in the company, valued at $72,801,401.22. This represents a 8.85 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 13,058 shares of company stock valued at $23,119,030. 3.46% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of FICO. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Fair Isaac by 286,768.9% during the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 258,182 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $476,129,000 after purchasing an additional 258,092 shares during the period. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Fair Isaac during the 4th quarter worth about $442,369,000. Wealthfront Advisers LLC grew its stake in Fair Isaac by 5,217.6% in the 4th quarter. Wealthfront Advisers LLC now owns 147,031 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $292,728,000 after buying an additional 144,266 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Fair Isaac during the fourth quarter worth approximately $261,610,000. Finally, Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its position in shares of Fair Isaac by 376.1% in the fourth quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 161,628 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $321,790,000 after purchasing an additional 127,679 shares during the last quarter. 85.75% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Fair Isaac Stock Up 0.9 %

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $1,852.23 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $1,977.98. The company has a market cap of $49.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 92.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.27 and a beta of 1.37.

About Fair Isaac

Fair Isaac Corporation develops analytic, software, and digital decisioning technologies and services that enable businesses to automate, enhance, and connect decisions in the Americas, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and the Asia Pacific. The company operates in two segments, Scores and Software. The Software segment provides pre-configured analytic and decision management solution designed for various business needs or processes, such as account origination, customer management, customer engagement, fraud detection, financial crimes compliance, and marketing, as well as associated professional services.