Citizens Jmp Has Lowered Expectations for Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) Stock Price

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) had its target price decreased by investment analysts at Citizens Jmp from $245.00 to $170.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market outperform” rating on the software maker’s stock. Citizens Jmp’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 44.25% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays set a $146.00 price objective on shares of Paylocity in a research report on Friday. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Paylocity from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Weiss Ratings lowered Paylocity from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 27th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Paylocity in a report on Friday. Finally, BTIG Research reduced their price objective on Paylocity from $180.00 to $150.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, five 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 has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $183.14.

Paylocity Stock Down 7.2%

NASDAQ:PCTY opened at $117.85 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 27.73, a PEG ratio of 3.47 and a beta of 0.54. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $145.27 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $156.69. Paylocity has a twelve month low of $113.70 and a twelve month high of $223.80.

Paylocity (NASDAQ:PCTY) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 5th. The software maker reported $1.85 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.57 by $0.28. The company had revenue of $416.13 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $408.37 million. Paylocity had a return on equity of 23.03% and a net margin of 14.19%.Paylocity’s revenue was up 10.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.52 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Paylocity will post 4.36 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Ryan Glenn sold 1,737 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $143.65, for a total transaction of $249,520.05. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 77,229 shares in the company, valued at $11,093,945.85. This trade represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 19.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Paylocity

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Alyeska Investment Group L.P. purchased a new position in shares of Paylocity in the third quarter worth $104,657,000. AQR Capital Management LLC grew its holdings in Paylocity by 500.6% in the 2nd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 449,935 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $81,438,000 after acquiring an additional 375,023 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 97.7% in the third quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 748,803 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $119,262,000 after acquiring an additional 369,975 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Paylocity by 311.5% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 432,070 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $65,891,000 after acquiring an additional 327,082 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Paylocity by 114.6% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 516,798 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $82,310,000 after acquiring an additional 275,959 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 94.76% of the company’s stock.

Paylocity News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Paylocity this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 beat — Paylocity reported EPS of $1.85 vs. $1.57 expected and total revenue of $416.1M (up 10.4% YoY), showing solid recurring-revenue growth that supports long-term profitability. GlobeNewswire Q2 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Strong cash flow and buybacks — trailing‑12‑month operating cash flow and free‑cash‑flow margins remain robust; company repurchased $100M (~690k shares) in Q2 and ~$600M (~3.7M shares) since May 2024, supporting EPS and shareholder returns. GlobeNewswire Q2 Press Release
• Positive Sentiment: Product and distribution drivers — management highlighted product expansion and growth through the broker channel as sources of upside to bookings and longer‑term revenue. MSN deep dive
• Neutral Sentiment: Earnings materials available — full slide deck and call transcript provide more detail on client metrics and product road map for investors who want to dig into assumptions. MarketBeat earnings packet Seeking Alpha transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance disappointed — management’s FY26 and Q3 revenue guidance came in below consensus (Q3 guidance midpoint well under street estimates), which is the main near‑term catalyst behind the selloff as it suggests slower near‑term top‑line momentum. MarketBeat guidance summary
• Negative Sentiment: Analyst price‑target cuts — multiple firms (Citigroup, Truist, Citizens JMP, Mizuho, BTIG, BMO) reduced targets today (ratings largely remain buy/outperform), trimming upside and adding near‑term selling pressure despite retained positive views. Benzinga coverage

About Paylocity

Paylocity (NASDAQ: PCTY) is a leading provider of cloud-based payroll and human capital management (HCM) software designed to streamline workforce administration for mid-sized organizations. The company’s integrated platform automates core functions such as payroll processing, benefits administration, time and labor tracking, and compliance management, enabling employers to manage employee data more efficiently and reduce administrative burdens.

In addition to payroll and HR capabilities, Paylocity offers talent management solutions including recruiting, onboarding, performance tracking, and learning management.