SAP (NYSE:SAP) Shares Gap Down on Disappointing Earnings

Shares of SAP SE (NYSE:SAP) gapped down before the market opened on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $275.60, but opened at $269.94. SAP shares last traded at $270.01, with a volume of 258,399 shares changing hands.

The software maker reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.51 by ($0.02). SAP had a return on equity of 11.44% and a net margin of 8.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of SAP from $275.00 to $283.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. JMP Securities increased their price target on SAP from $245.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock a “market outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. TD Cowen raised SAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $240.00 to $305.00 in a research note on Friday, January 17th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on SAP from $248.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Kepler Capital Markets upgraded SAP from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, January 15th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating, According to MarketBeat, SAP currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $276.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SAP. Foster Group Inc. lifted its holdings in SAP by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Foster Group Inc. now owns 1,089 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $268,000 after buying an additional 45 shares during the period. Wedmont Private Capital lifted its stake in shares of SAP by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Wedmont Private Capital now owns 1,927 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $485,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Confluence Investment Management LLC boosted its position in shares of SAP by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Confluence Investment Management LLC now owns 4,325 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,065,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares in the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc grew its stake in SAP by 1.3% in the third quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 3,994 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $915,000 after purchasing an additional 51 shares during the period. Finally, Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton raised its holdings in SAP by 5.0% in the third quarter. Rosenberg Matthew Hamilton now owns 1,100 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $252,000 after purchasing an additional 52 shares in the last quarter.

SAP Price Performance

The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $249.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $230.70. The firm has a market cap of $333.22 billion, a PE ratio of 108.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.89 and a beta of 1.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.17, a current ratio of 1.10 and a quick ratio of 1.10.

About SAP

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.