International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) Upgraded to “Buy” by Standpoint Research

Standpoint Research upgraded shares of International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports.

A number of other research analysts have also commented on the company. Zacks Investment Research raised International Business Machines Corporation from a sell rating to a hold rating in a report on Wednesday. Cantor Fitzgerald reissued a hold rating and set a $154.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines Corporation in a report on Wednesday. Drexel Hamilton reissued a buy rating and set a $200.00 price objective on shares of International Business Machines Corporation in a report on Tuesday. Vetr lowered International Business Machines Corporation from a buy rating to a hold rating and set a $157.56 price objective on the stock. in a report on Monday. Finally, Credit Suisse Group reissued an underperform rating and set a $110.00 price objective (down previously from $125.00) on shares of International Business Machines Corporation in a report on Monday. Seven analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and seven have issued a buy rating to the stock. The stock has a consensus rating of Hold and an average target price of $160.63.

Shares of International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) traded down 0.08% during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $147.41. The stock had a trading volume of 2,491,865 shares. The firm has a market cap of $138.49 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 12.12 and a beta of 0.98. The company has a 50-day moving average of $153.57 and a 200 day moving average of $165.30. International Business Machines Corporation has a one year low of $146.71 and a one year high of $182.79. International Business Machines Corporation also saw unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Stock investors acquired 49,126 put options on the stock. This is an increase of 655% compared to the average volume of 6,510 put options.

International Business Machines Corporation (NYSE:IBM) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, July 18th. The technology company reported $2.97 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.74 by $0.23. International Business Machines Corporation had a return on equity of 72.07% and a net margin of 14.58%. The company had revenue of $19.29 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.45 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $2.95 EPS. The business’s revenue was down 4.7% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that International Business Machines Corporation will post $13.73 earnings per share for the current year.

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In other news, Director James W. Owens purchased 1,718 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 16th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $153.19 per share, for a total transaction of $263,180.42. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.23% of the company’s stock.

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Independence Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation by 0.3% in the first quarter. Independence Advisors LLC now owns 1,937 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $337,000 after buying an additional 5 shares during the period. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Jackson Grant Investment Advisers Inc. now owns 737 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $122,000 after buying an additional 6 shares during the period. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation by 0.4% in the first quarter. K.J. Harrison & Partners Inc now owns 1,955 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $340,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation by 0.5% in the first quarter. Arthur M. Cohen & Associates LLC now owns 1,362 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $237,000 after buying an additional 7 shares during the period. Finally, Financial & Investment Management Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of International Business Machines Corporation by 0.6% in the first quarter. Financial & Investment Management Group Ltd. now owns 1,958 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $341,000 after buying an additional 12 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 58.16% of the company’s stock.

International Business Machines Corporation Company Profile

International Business Machines Corporation (IBM) is a technology company. The Company operates through five segments: Cognitive Solutions, Global Business Services (GBS), Technology Services & Cloud Platforms, Systems and Global Financing. The Cognitive Solutions segment delivers a spectrum of capabilities, from descriptive, predictive and prescriptive analytics to cognitive systems.