Short Interest in Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PAY) Rises By 30.2%

Paymentus Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:PAY) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest during the month of March. As of March 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,130,000 shares, an increase of 30.2% from the February 28th total of 867,700 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 483,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Approximately 4.4% of the company’s stock are sold short.

Paymentus Stock Performance

PAY traded down $0.24 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $26.11. The company had a trading volume of 357,085 shares, compared to its average volume of 325,875. Paymentus has a 12-month low of $16.94 and a 12-month high of $38.94. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $29.24 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $29.09. The stock has a market cap of $3.26 billion, a PE ratio of 84.23 and a beta of 1.68.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, General Counsel Andrew A. Gerber sold 3,070 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.98, for a total transaction of $98,178.60. Following the completion of the sale, the general counsel now directly owns 94,855 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,033,462.90. The trade was a 3.14 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Sanjay Kalra sold 15,794 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.99, for a total transaction of $505,250.06. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 466,035 shares in the company, valued at approximately $14,908,459.65. The trade was a 3.28 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 87.76% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Paymentus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in Paymentus by 13.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 709,650 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,207,000 after buying an additional 81,853 shares during the last quarter. Cerity Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Paymentus in the 3rd quarter worth about $629,000. PDT Partners LLC raised its stake in Paymentus by 39.4% in the 3rd quarter. PDT Partners LLC now owns 48,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $964,000 after acquiring an additional 13,621 shares during the period. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Paymentus by 1,569.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 5,058 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,000 after purchasing an additional 4,755 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Victory Capital Management Inc. purchased a new stake in Paymentus during the fourth quarter valued at about $215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.38% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms recently commented on PAY. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Paymentus from $31.00 to $29.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $38.00 target price on shares of Paymentus in a report on Wednesday, March 12th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Paymentus from $27.00 to $33.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 16th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on shares of Paymentus from $40.00 to $36.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, March 11th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Paymentus from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 19th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Paymentus currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $31.83.

Paymentus Company Profile

Paymentus Holdings, Inc provides cloud-based bill payment technology and solutions in the United States and internationally. The company offers electronic bill presentment and payment services, enterprise customer communication, and self-service revenue management to billers through a software-as-a-service technology platform.