Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) Sees Strong Trading Volume – Here’s What Happened

Sapiens International Co. (NASDAQ:SPNS) saw unusually-high trading volume on Wednesday . Approximately 348,303 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 58% from the previous session’s volume of 220,127 shares.The stock last traded at $26.11 and had previously closed at $25.69.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. StockNews.com lowered shares of Sapiens International from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 19th. Needham & Company LLC cut their target price on shares of Sapiens International from $44.00 to $35.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, November 12th. Barclays dropped their price target on shares of Sapiens International from $38.00 to $30.00 and set an “underweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, November 12th. Finally, William Blair restated a “market perform” rating on shares of Sapiens International in a research note on Friday, December 6th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Sapiens International has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $36.00.

Sapiens International Trading Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $1.47 billion, a PE ratio of 20.75 and a beta of 1.15. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.18 and a quick ratio of 2.18. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $27.14 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $33.18.

Sapiens International (NASDAQ:SPNS) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 11th. The technology company reported $0.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.38 by ($0.01). Sapiens International had a return on equity of 17.61% and a net margin of 13.23%. The business had revenue of $137.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.10 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.32 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.8% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts expect that Sapiens International Co. will post 1.42 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Sapiens International

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in SPNS. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its position in Sapiens International by 7.7% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 19,540 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $700,000 after purchasing an additional 1,391 shares during the period. Barclays PLC increased its position in shares of Sapiens International by 415.1% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 54,640 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,036,000 after acquiring an additional 44,033 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Sapiens International by 22.6% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 177,878 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,630,000 after acquiring an additional 32,780 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Sapiens International in the third quarter valued at $231,000. Finally, SG Americas Securities LLC acquired a new stake in Sapiens International in the 3rd quarter valued at about $584,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 30.73% of the company’s stock.

About Sapiens International

Sapiens International Corporation N.V. provides software solutions for the insurance industry in North America, the United Kingdom, Europe, the Middle East, Africa, the Asia Pacific, and internationally. The company provides various solutions for property and casualty commercial and personal lines, life and pensions, and reinsurance fields.