PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $53.00 price target on the software maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 27.74% from the company’s current price.

Several other equities analysts also recently commented on PAR. StockNews.com raised PAR Technology to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, March 7th. Sidoti raised PAR Technology from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $61.00 target price for the company in a report on Tuesday, March 12th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of PAR Technology in a research report on Tuesday, March 12th. TheStreet raised shares of PAR Technology from a “d+” rating to a “c-” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Benchmark initiated coverage on shares of PAR Technology in a research report on Tuesday, February 13th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $48.57.

PAR Technology Stock Down 7.3 %

PAR opened at $41.49 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $42.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $41.61. PAR Technology has a 1-year low of $24.76 and a 1-year high of $49.84. The stock has a market cap of $1.41 billion, a PE ratio of -16.40 and a beta of 2.00. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 1.96 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

PAR Technology (NYSE:PAR) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 27th. The software maker reported ($0.47) earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of ($0.42) by ($0.05). The company had revenue of $107.71 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $106.12 million. PAR Technology had a negative net margin of 16.77% and a negative return on equity of 16.46%. As a group, research analysts expect that PAR Technology will post -1.15 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other PAR Technology news, CFO Bryan A. Menar sold 803 shares of PAR Technology stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total value of $35,163.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 54,601 shares in the company, valued at $2,390,977.79. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Douglas Gregory Rauch sold 4,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $42.04, for a total transaction of $189,180.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 14,365 shares in the company, valued at $603,904.60. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Bryan A. Menar sold 803 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.79, for a total transaction of $35,163.37. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 54,601 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,390,977.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 3.67% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On PAR Technology

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Voss Capital LLC bought a new position in PAR Technology during the fourth quarter worth $15,262,000. Wasatch Advisors LP bought a new stake in PAR Technology in the first quarter worth approximately $10,194,000. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of PAR Technology by 9.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,108,590 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $91,808,000 after buying an additional 173,575 shares in the last quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC increased its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 94.1% in the 4th quarter. Intrinsic Edge Capital Management LLC now owns 315,607 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $13,742,000 after acquiring an additional 152,972 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in shares of PAR Technology by 583.7% in the 3rd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 174,612 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $6,730,000 after acquiring an additional 149,071 shares in the last quarter.

About PAR Technology

PAR Technology Corporation, together with its subsidiaries, provides omnichannel cloud-based hardware and software solutions to the restaurant and retail industries worldwide. The Restaurant/Retail segment offers PUNCHH, an enterprise-grade customer loyalty and engagement solution; MENU, an eCommerce platform for restaurant brands; BRINK POS, an open cloud, point-of-sale solution; PAR PAYMENT SERVICES, a merchant services business that enables electronic payment and processing services for businesses; and DATA CENTRAL, a back-office solution that leverages business intelligence and automation technologies.