Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) Cut to “Hold” at Craig Hallum

Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report report published on Monday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. They currently have $11.70 target price on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently issued reports on PERI. Zacks Research upgraded Perion Network from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 5th. Weiss Ratings cut Perion Network from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have assigned a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $13.30.

Perion Network Price Performance

Shares of PERI opened at $11.45 on Monday. Perion Network has a one year low of $7.63 and a one year high of $11.46. The firm has a market capitalization of $446.89 million, a PE ratio of -32.71, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.34 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $9.05 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $9.26.

Perion Network (NASDAQ:PERI) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, August 11th. The technology company reported $0.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.08 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $98.24 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $96.72 million. Perion Network had a positive return on equity of 2.43% and a negative net margin of 2.95%. Analysts expect that Perion Network will post 0.45 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Eyal Kaplan sold 2,916 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, October 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $8.72, for a total value of $25,427.52. Following the transaction, the director owned 51,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $446,690.72. This represents a 5.39% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. The sale was made to cover tax withholding obligations related to the vesting of equity awards. Insiders have sold a total of 6,767 shares of company stock valued at $58,970 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 2.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Perion Network

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in Perion Network by 698.9% in the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 10,170 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $102,000 after acquiring an additional 8,897 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Perion Network by 21.9% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 12,190 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $122,000 after purchasing an additional 2,186 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE boosted its stake in Perion Network by 101.3% during the 1st quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 24,480 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $245,000 after purchasing an additional 12,317 shares during the last quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC increased its holdings in shares of Perion Network by 282.5% in the 2nd quarter. Headlands Technologies LLC now owns 39,577 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $384,000 after purchasing an additional 29,231 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y.D. More Investments Ltd increased its holdings in shares of Perion Network by 29.6% in the 1st quarter. Y.D. More Investments Ltd now owns 50,002 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $503,000 after purchasing an additional 11,435 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 68.12% of the company’s stock.

Perion Network Company Profile

Perion Network Ltd. (NASDAQ: PERI) is an Israel-based global advertising technology company that develops solutions for advertisers, publishers and commerce platforms. Its business is focused on helping clients plan, deliver, manage and measure digital advertising campaigns across search, social media, display, video, connected television and digital out-of-home channels.

The company operates through several technology and advertising platforms. These include Undertone, which provides digital media and creative advertising solutions; CodeFuel, which focuses on search monetization and website publishing tools; and Hivestack, a programmatic platform for digital out-of-home advertising.