Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) Upgraded to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research upgraded shares of Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) from a strong sell rating to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

PRTH has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Priority Technology in a report on Monday, December 29th. Wall Street Zen lowered Priority Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, January 3rd. Keefe, Bruyette & Woods downgraded Priority Technology from a “moderate buy” rating to a “hold” rating and cut their price target for the stock from $9.00 to $6.00 in a research note on Tuesday, November 11th. Industrial Alliance Securities set a $11.00 price objective on Priority Technology in a report on Thursday, November 6th. Finally, Alliance Global Partners reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Priority Technology in a report on Thursday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, two have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Priority Technology currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $8.50.

Priority Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:PRTH opened at $5.82 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $476.48 million, a P/E ratio of 10.98 and a beta of 1.37. The company’s 50-day moving average is $5.66 and its 200 day moving average is $6.86. Priority Technology has a fifty-two week low of $4.44 and a fifty-two week high of $12.47.

Priority Technology (NASDAQ:PRTH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, November 6th. The company reported $0.28 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.30 by ($0.02). The company had revenue of $241.44 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.74 million. Priority Technology had a negative return on equity of 60.29% and a net margin of 5.78%. As a group, research analysts predict that Priority Technology will post -0.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Priority Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. BNP Paribas Financial Markets lifted its holdings in shares of Priority Technology by 57.3% in the third quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 5,115 shares of the company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 1,863 shares in the last quarter. State of Wyoming increased its holdings in Priority Technology by 4.5% during the 3rd quarter. State of Wyoming now owns 47,259 shares of the company’s stock worth $325,000 after acquiring an additional 2,051 shares during the period. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in Priority Technology by 10.2% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 26,131 shares of the company’s stock worth $178,000 after purchasing an additional 2,425 shares in the last quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. boosted its holdings in Priority Technology by 25.5% in the 1st quarter. MIRAE ASSET GLOBAL ETFS HOLDINGS Ltd. now owns 13,030 shares of the company’s stock valued at $89,000 after purchasing an additional 2,648 shares during the period. Finally, Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its holdings in Priority Technology by 14.4% in the 3rd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 25,460 shares of the company’s stock valued at $175,000 after purchasing an additional 3,200 shares during the period. 11.52% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Priority Technology

Priority Technology Acquisition Corp is a special purpose acquisition company formed to effect a merger, capital stock exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization or similar business combination with one or more businesses in the technology sector. As a blank-check company, it does not conduct any operations of its own and holds the proceeds from its initial public offering in a trust account pending the identification and completion of a business combination.

The company’s management team is focused on evaluating target businesses that offer scalable technology products or services, including software, digital platforms and related infrastructure.