Docusign (NASDAQ:DOCU) Rating Lowered to “Buy” at Wall Street Zen

Docusign (NASDAQ:DOCU) was downgraded by equities research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Sunday.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the company. Needham & Company LLC restated a “hold” rating on shares of Docusign in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of Docusign from $45.00 to $50.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Docusign from $50.00 to $54.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, June 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Docusign from $78.00 to $65.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Wedbush dropped their price target on shares of Docusign from $60.00 to $58.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, fourteen have given a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $60.27.

Docusign Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:DOCU traded up $0.42 during trading on Friday, reaching $49.18. 3,139,499 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 4,011,580. The stock has a market capitalization of $9.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.45 and a beta of 0.90. Docusign has a 12 month low of $40.16 and a 12 month high of $86.65. The company has a 50 day moving average of $47.05 and a 200-day moving average of $50.17.

Docusign (NASDAQ:DOCU) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, June 4th. The company reported $1.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.99 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $830.24 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $824.71 million. Docusign had a net margin of 9.59% and a return on equity of 17.48%. Docusign’s revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.90 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Docusign will post 2.03 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Docusign declared that its board has initiated a stock buyback program on Tuesday, March 17th that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the company to buy up to 21% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are typically an indication that the company’s board believes its stock is undervalued.

Insider Activity at Docusign

In related news, insider Robert Chatwani sold 15,902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $43.01, for a total value of $683,945.02. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider owned 72,805 shares in the company, valued at $3,131,343.05. This represents a 17.93% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CRO Paula Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.54, for a total transaction of $273,240.00. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 89,972 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,097,324.88. The trade was a 6.25% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders sold 76,695 shares of company stock valued at $3,476,002. 0.59% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Docusign in the fourth quarter valued at $186,795,000. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership grew its holdings in Docusign by 76.1% during the first quarter. Arrowstreet Capital Limited Partnership now owns 5,285,128 shares of the company’s stock worth $250,568,000 after acquiring an additional 2,283,996 shares during the period. Capital World Investors raised its position in Docusign by 38.1% in the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 5,815,804 shares of the company’s stock worth $397,801,000 after acquiring an additional 1,603,900 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its position in Docusign by 452.3% in the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 1,314,632 shares of the company’s stock worth $62,327,000 after acquiring an additional 1,076,622 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP lifted its holdings in Docusign by 24,412.7% in the 3rd quarter. Woodline Partners LP now owns 958,938 shares of the company’s stock valued at $69,130,000 after acquiring an additional 955,026 shares during the last quarter. 77.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Docusign

DocuSign, Inc (NASDAQ: DOCU) is a leading provider of electronic signature and digital transaction management solutions. The company’s flagship offering, DocuSign eSignature, enables organizations to send, sign and manage legally binding electronic agreements securely in the cloud. Beyond eSignature, DocuSign’s Agreement Cloud combines contract lifecycle management, document generation, and workflow automation to streamline agreement processes from initiation through execution and storage.

DocuSign’s platform serves a diverse customer base spanning industries such as finance, real estate, healthcare, technology, and government.