StockNews.com Downgrades SAP (NYSE:SAP) to Buy

SAP (NYSE:SAP) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of SAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 2nd. BMO Capital Markets boosted their target price on SAP from $147.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 25th. Barclays raised their price target on SAP from $189.00 to $212.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 3rd. KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of SAP in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. They issued an “overweight” rating on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price objective on shares of SAP from $185.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 26th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, SAP currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $193.80.

SAP Price Performance

Shares of SAP stock opened at $175.73 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.18, a current ratio of 1.40 and a quick ratio of 1.40. SAP has a 12-month low of $126.40 and a 12-month high of $199.29. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $187.15 and a 200-day simple moving average of $163.88.

SAP (NYSE:SAP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, January 23rd. The software maker reported $1.12 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.29 by ($0.17). SAP had a net margin of 20.30% and a return on equity of 9.54%. The business had revenue of $9.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $8.98 billion. Equities research analysts expect that SAP will post 4.77 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On SAP

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Northwest Investment Counselors LLC purchased a new position in SAP during the first quarter worth about $25,000. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of SAP by 130.8% during the 4th quarter. FinTrust Capital Advisors LLC now owns 240 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of SAP in the second quarter worth approximately $25,000. Column Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in SAP by 121.0% in the third quarter. Column Capital Advisors LLC now owns 221 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 121 shares during the period. Finally, Sunbelt Securities Inc. acquired a new position in SAP during the first quarter worth approximately $29,000.

SAP Company Profile

SAP SE, together with its subsidiaries, provides applications, technology, and services worldwide. It offers SAP S/4HANA that provides software capabilities for finance, risk and project management, procurement, manufacturing, supply chain and asset management, and research and development; SAP SuccessFactors solutions for human resources, including HR and payroll, talent and employee experience management, and people and workforce analytics; and spend management solutions that covers direct and indirect spend, travel and expense, and external workforce management.