Zacks Research Downgrades CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) to Strong Sell

CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) was downgraded by analysts at Zacks Research from a “hold” rating to a “strong sell” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

PMTS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings lowered CPI Card Group from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Wall Street Zen cut CPI Card Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, August 16th. DA Davidson reduced their price target on CPI Card Group from $32.00 to $30.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Lake Street Capital set a $25.00 price objective on CPI Card Group in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Roth Capital set a $30.00 target price on shares of CPI Card Group in a research note on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, CPI Card Group has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $31.80.

CPI Card Group Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PMTS opened at $14.22 on Wednesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $161.21 million, a PE ratio of 12.70 and a beta of 1.49. CPI Card Group has a 1 year low of $12.52 and a 1 year high of $35.19. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $15.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $19.29.

CPI Card Group (NASDAQ:PMTS) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, November 4th. The company reported $0.47 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.63 by ($0.16). CPI Card Group had a negative return on equity of 58.00% and a net margin of 2.66%.The business had revenue of $137.97 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $140.62 million. Analysts expect that CPI Card Group will post 1.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at CPI Card Group

In other CPI Card Group news, Chairman H Sanford Riley bought 10,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $15.75 per share, with a total value of $157,500.00. Following the transaction, the chairman owned 31,033 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $488,769.75. The trade was a 47.54% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 2.80% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On CPI Card Group

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. US Bancorp DE purchased a new stake in shares of CPI Card Group during the 1st quarter worth approximately $33,000. Lazard Asset Management LLC raised its stake in CPI Card Group by 100.4% during the 2nd quarter. Lazard Asset Management LLC now owns 2,928 shares of the company’s stock worth $69,000 after acquiring an additional 1,467 shares in the last quarter. Virtus Advisers LLC acquired a new position in CPI Card Group in the first quarter valued at $101,000. IFP Advisors Inc grew its holdings in shares of CPI Card Group by 52.5% during the second quarter. IFP Advisors Inc now owns 4,342 shares of the company’s stock worth $103,000 after purchasing an additional 1,494 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Russell Investments Group Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of CPI Card Group by 130.4% during the first quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. now owns 3,800 shares of the company’s stock worth $111,000 after purchasing an additional 2,151 shares during the last quarter. 22.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About CPI Card Group

CPI Card Group Inc, together with its subsidiaries, engages in the design, production, data personalization, packaging, and fulfillment of financial payment cards. It operates through Debit and Credit, and Prepaid Debit segments. The Debit and Credit segment produces financial payment cards and provides integrated card services to card-issuing financial institutions.