EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) Short Interest Up 8.6% in October

EPAM Systems, Inc. (NYSE:EPAM) was the target of a large increase in short interest during the month of October. As of October 31st, there was short interest totalling 761,600 shares, an increase of 8.6% from the October 15th total of 701,200 shares. Currently, 1.4% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 582,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

EPAM has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of EPAM Systems in a report on Thursday, August 22nd. They set a “hold” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price target on shares of EPAM Systems from $237.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, September 9th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of EPAM Systems from $207.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, October 28th. Needham & Company LLC increased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $215.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, November 8th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of EPAM Systems from $222.00 to $262.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $264.20.

Insider Activity at EPAM Systems

In other EPAM Systems news, CFO Jason D. Peterson sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $237.00, for a total transaction of $237,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 24,836 shares in the company, valued at $5,886,132. This represents a 3.87 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 4.30% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of EPAM Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. M&T Bank Corp grew its position in shares of EPAM Systems by 3.0% in the 3rd quarter. M&T Bank Corp now owns 13,217 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock worth $2,631,000 after buying an additional 380 shares during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in EPAM Systems by 12.2% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 128,629 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $25,602,000 after purchasing an additional 13,981 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in EPAM Systems by 5,240.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 267 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after purchasing an additional 262 shares during the last quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its position in EPAM Systems by 12.0% during the 3rd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 16,848 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $3,353,000 after purchasing an additional 1,801 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MML Investors Services LLC grew its position in EPAM Systems by 19.1% during the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 6,522 shares of the information technology services provider’s stock valued at $1,298,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045 shares during the last quarter. 91.58% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

EPAM Systems Trading Down 3.9 %

EPAM Systems stock traded down $9.57 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $235.29. 851,851 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 628,540. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.01, a current ratio of 4.56 and a quick ratio of 4.56. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $203.19 and its 200 day moving average price is $197.84. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.35 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.60 and a beta of 1.46. EPAM Systems has a 52-week low of $169.43 and a 52-week high of $317.50.

EPAM Systems announced that its board has authorized a share buyback program on Thursday, August 8th that allows the company to repurchase $500.00 million in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the information technology services provider to repurchase up to 4.3% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase programs are generally a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

About EPAM Systems

EPAM Systems, Inc provides digital platform engineering and software development services worldwide. The company offers engineering services, including requirements analysis and platform selection, customization, cross-platform migration, implementation, and integration; infrastructure management services, such as software development, testing, performance tuning, deployment, maintenance, and support services.