Zacks Investment Research lowered shares of Proofpoint, Inc. (NASDAQ:PFPT) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Friday morning.
According to Zacks, “Proofpoint is a leading security-as-a-service provider that focuses on cloud-based solutions for threat protection, compliance, archiving & governance, and secure communications. The company’s sustained focus on launching new products, acquisitions and partnerships have helped it to register over 40% revenue growth continuously for the last few quarters. According to a Markets and Markets report, the cyber security market will touch $202.36 billion in 2021 from $122.45 billion in 2016, representing a compounded annual growth rate of 10.6%. The favourable trend in the space is likely to aid Proofpoint’s financial results. Notably, Proofpoint has outperformed the broader industry over the last three months. Nonetheless, intensifying competition and an uncertain macroeconomic environment add to its woes.”
Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Needham & Company LLC began coverage on Proofpoint in a research report on Friday, July 21st. They set a buy rating and a $115.00 target price for the company. Piper Jaffray Companies set a $90.00 target price on Proofpoint and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, April 21st. FBN Securities began coverage on Proofpoint in a research report on Monday, May 22nd. They set an outperform rating and a $95.00 target price for the company. Susquehanna Bancshares Inc began coverage on Proofpoint in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They set a positive rating and a $106.00 target price for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Proofpoint in a research report on Wednesday, June 7th. They set a buy rating and a $90.00 target price for the company. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and twenty-one have assigned a buy rating to the company. Proofpoint currently has an average rating of Buy and an average target price of $92.78.
Proofpoint (PFPT) traded up 2.505% during trading on Friday, reaching $89.015. 163,524 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $87.56 and its 200-day moving average price is $82.49. The firm’s market cap is $3.95 billion. Proofpoint has a 12 month low of $68.04 and a 12 month high of $94.33.
Proofpoint (NASDAQ:PFPT) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, July 27th. The software maker reported $0.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.12 by $0.05. Proofpoint had a negative return on equity of 140.24% and a negative net margin of 20.96%. The firm had revenue of $122.30 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $119.58 million. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.06 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 36.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Proofpoint will post $0.65 EPS for the current year.
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In other Proofpoint news, CEO Gary Steele sold 40,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.38, for a total value of $3,215,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now owns 61,780 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,965,876.40. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Chairman Eric Hahn sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.61, for a total value of $418,050.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now owns 71,460 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,974,770.60. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 161,299 shares of company stock valued at $13,837,869. 6.80% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Renaissance Technologies LLC bought a new position in shares of Proofpoint during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $721,000. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Proofpoint by 25.5% in the fourth quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 11,923 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $842,000 after buying an additional 2,426 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new position in shares of Proofpoint during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $9,638,000. Teachers Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Proofpoint by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Teachers Advisors LLC now owns 290,750 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $20,541,000 after buying an additional 1,802 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpha Windward LLC increased its position in shares of Proofpoint by 9.4% in the first quarter. Alpha Windward LLC now owns 6,282 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $467,000 after buying an additional 540 shares in the last quarter.
About Proofpoint
Proofpoint, Inc is a security-as-a-service provider that enables large and mid-sized organizations to defend, protect, archive and govern their sensitive data. The Company’s security-as-a-service platform consists of an integrated suite of on-demand data protection solutions, including threat protection, incident response, regulatory compliance, archiving, governance, eDiscovery and secure communication.
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