Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) Cut to Hold at Wall Street Zen

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) was downgraded by research analysts at Wall Street Zen from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on PIPR. Bank of America initiated coverage on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Monday, January 26th. They set an “underperform” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $368.00 to $386.00 in a research report on Monday, November 10th. Wolfe Research reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $398.00 price target on shares of Piper Sandler Companies in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. Finally, Zacks Research raised Piper Sandler Companies from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Piper Sandler Companies currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $389.67.

Piper Sandler Companies Stock Performance

Shares of PIPR stock opened at $323.34 on Monday. Piper Sandler Companies has a fifty-two week low of $202.91 and a fifty-two week high of $380.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.45, a PEG ratio of 1.78 and a beta of 1.53. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $352.39 and its 200-day simple moving average is $340.47.

Piper Sandler Companies’s stock is set to split before the market opens on Tuesday, March 24th. The 4-1 split was announced on Friday, February 6th. The newly issued shares will be payable to shareholders after the market closes on Monday, March 23rd.

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE:PIPR) last released its earnings results on Friday, February 6th. The company reported $6.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $4.72 by $2.16. The company had revenue of $635.00 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $516.52 million. Piper Sandler Companies had a net margin of 14.77% and a return on equity of 22.50%. Piper Sandler Companies’s revenue for the quarter was up 27.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $4.80 EPS.

Insider Buying and Selling at Piper Sandler Companies

In other Piper Sandler Companies news, CFO Katherine Patricia Clune sold 1,367 shares of Piper Sandler Companies stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 21st. The stock was sold at an average price of $324.69, for a total transaction of $443,851.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 10,425 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,384,893.25. This trade represents a 11.59% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, President Debbra L. Schoneman sold 5,240 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $350.99, for a total value of $1,839,187.60. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 2,896 shares in the company, valued at $1,016,467.04. The trade was a 64.41% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,007 shares of company stock worth $4,777,109. Insiders own 2.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Piper Sandler Companies

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Piper Sandler Companies by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,128,150 shares of the company’s stock valued at $722,954,000 after purchasing an additional 17,964 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 2.9% during the third quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 714,544 shares of the company’s stock worth $247,940,000 after buying an additional 20,232 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 2.5% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 400,772 shares of the company’s stock valued at $111,402,000 after buying an additional 9,759 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Piper Sandler Companies by 6.4% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 294,624 shares of the company’s stock valued at $100,087,000 after buying an additional 17,694 shares during the period. Finally, Stephens Investment Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Piper Sandler Companies by 11.6% in the second quarter. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC now owns 279,542 shares of the company’s stock valued at $77,696,000 after buying an additional 29,035 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.79% of the company’s stock.

About Piper Sandler Companies

Piper Sandler Companies (NYSE: PIPR) is an investment bank and institutional securities firm that provides a range of capital markets and advisory services to corporations, institutions, municipalities and high-net-worth individuals. The firm’s core activities include investment banking and M&A advisory, underwriting and distribution of equity and debt securities, public finance, and sector-focused advisory across industries such as healthcare, energy, financial services and technology.

In addition to traditional investment banking, Piper Sandler offers equity and fixed income research, institutional sales and trading, and market-making services.