Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN) Cut to “Hold” at Zacks Research

Zacks Research downgraded shares of Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a report published on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on FIVN. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Five9 from $28.00 to $22.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, November 7th. Cantor Fitzgerald reduced their price target on Five9 from $36.00 to $32.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 7th. Morgan Stanley decreased their price target on Five9 from $30.00 to $26.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 15th. HSBC raised Five9 to a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a “buy” rating and issued a $40.00 target price on shares of Five9 in a report on Thursday, December 18th. Twelve investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, six have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Five9 has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $32.07.

Five9 Trading Down 6.4%

NASDAQ:FIVN opened at $16.01 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $1.25 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.47, a P/E/G ratio of 0.86 and a beta of 1.32. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $19.44 and its 200 day moving average price is $22.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.96, a quick ratio of 4.61 and a current ratio of 4.61. Five9 has a 52 week low of $15.70 and a 52 week high of $49.90.

Five9 (NASDAQ:FIVN) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, November 6th. The software maker reported $0.78 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.73 by $0.05. Five9 had a net margin of 2.77% and a return on equity of 10.59%. The company had revenue of $285.83 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $285.15 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.67 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Five9 will post 0.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Five9 announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a stock repurchase plan on Tuesday, November 11th that allows the company to buyback $50.00 million in shares. This buyback authorization allows the software maker to reacquire up to 3.2% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are generally an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, insider Tiffany N. Meriweather sold 6,852 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $139,438.20. Following the transaction, the insider owned 212,126 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,316,764.10. The trade was a 3.13% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Bryan M. Lee sold 13,219 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $20.35, for a total transaction of $269,006.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 224,269 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,563,874.15. The trade was a 5.57% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 65,339 shares of company stock worth $1,330,186. 1.60% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Five9

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of FIVN. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Five9 in the second quarter valued at about $32,000. Global Retirement Partners LLC increased its stake in Five9 by 81.7% during the third quarter. Global Retirement Partners LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 552 shares during the period. Quarry LP acquired a new position in Five9 in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. Advisory Services Network LLC bought a new stake in shares of Five9 in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Five9 during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $45,000. 96.64% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Five9 Company Profile

Five9, Inc (NASDAQ: FIVN) is a leading provider of cloud-based contact center software designed to help organizations manage customer interactions across voice, email, chat, social media and other digital channels. Its platform offers features such as intelligent routing, analytics, workforce optimization and integrated customer relationship management (CRM) connectors. The company emphasizes AI-driven capabilities, including virtual agents and predictive dialing, to enhance both agent productivity and customer experience.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in San Ramon, California, Five9 completed its initial public offering in February 2014.