Implied QGRO Analyst Target Price: $112
Written by Emily J. Thompson, Senior Investment Analyst
Updated: Jan 09 2025
0mins
Source: NASDAQ.COM
ETF Analyst Target Price: The American Century U.S. Quality Growth ETF (QGRO) has an implied analyst target price of $111.50, indicating a potential upside of 10.11% from its current trading price of $101.26.
Underlying Holdings Performance: Notable underlying holdings such as Qualys, Gilead Sciences, and Paycom Software show significant upside potential based on analyst target prices, raising questions about the validity and optimism of these targets in light of recent market developments.
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Analyst Views on PAYC
Wall Street analysts forecast PAYC stock price to rise
14 Analyst Rating
3 Buy
11 Hold
0 Sell
Hold
Current: 132.280
Low
165.00
Averages
201.82
High
245.00
Current: 132.280
Low
165.00
Averages
201.82
High
245.00
About PAYC
Paycom Software, Inc. is a provider of a comprehensive, cloud-based human capital management (HCM) solution delivered as software-as-a-service (SaaS). The Company provides functionality and data analytics that businesses need to manage the complete employment lifecycle, from recruitment to retirement. Its solution requires virtually no customization and is based on a core system of record maintained in a single database for all HCM functions, including talent acquisition, time and labor management, payroll, talent management and human resources (HR) management applications. The Company's applications streamline client processes and provide clients and their employees with the ability to directly access and manage administrative processes, including applications that identify candidates, on-board employees, manage time and labor, administer payroll deductions and benefits, manage performance, terminate employees and administer post-termination health benefits, such as COBRA.
About the author
Emily J. Thompson
Emily J. Thompson, a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) with 12 years in investment research, graduated with honors from the Wharton School. Specializing in industrial and technology stocks, she provides in-depth analysis for Intellectia’s earnings and market brief reports.
Paycom Recognized as Top Software Provider in G2 Reports
- Leading Software Categories: Paycom was recognized as the top software provider in HR Compliance and Implementation Index in G2's Summer 2026 Reports, showcasing its exceptional performance in HR and payroll management, thereby solidifying its market leadership.
- Payroll Management Advantage: Paycom scored highly in the payroll category, particularly for its ability to manage and streamline payroll processes, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time, which enhances client trust and reliance on its products.
- Customer Feedback Driven: With over 200 G2 badges, including 141 Leader badges, Paycom reflects strong performance in customer satisfaction and market presence, further enhancing its brand image and reputation.
- Innovative Technology Application: Paycom's Beti® feature is praised by users as the
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- Strong Cash App Performance: In Q1 2026, Cash App's gross profit rose 38% year-over-year to $1.91 billion, with monthly active users reaching 59 million, showcasing success in customer relationship management and innovation in financial tools, thereby solidifying Block's market position.
- Square Payment Volume Growth: Square's gross profit increased 9% year-over-year to $982 million, with gross payment volume (GPV) growing 13% to $61.2 billion; management expects GPV to continue rising in 2026 despite foreign exchange pressures, providing a stable revenue stream for the company.
- Expansion of Credit Business: Block's consumer lending origination volume soared 82% year-over-year to $17.6 billion, driven by strong performance in Cash App Borrow; management anticipates normalization of lending growth in Q2 2026, yet views embedded lending as a key long-term driver of profitability.
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Analysis of PAYC Dividend Predictions and Stock Performance
- Dividend Yield Expectation: PAYC currently has an annualized dividend yield of 1.10%, and while dividends are not always predictable, historical data can assist in assessing whether future dividends will continue, impacting investor return expectations.
- Price Volatility Range: PAYC's 52-week low is $106.62 and high is $267.76, with the last trade at $138.06, indicating relative stability within its price range, which may attract risk-averse investors.
- ETF Holding Proportion: According to ETF Channel, PAYC constitutes 3.90% of the Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU), which is up about 2.9% on the day, highlighting PAYC's market influence in the cloud computing sector.
- Intraday Trading Performance: In Friday trading, Paycom Software Inc shares rose approximately 1.8%, reflecting optimistic market sentiment regarding its future performance, potentially attracting more investor attention to its dividends and growth potential.
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Burry Analyzes Software Stocks' Risks and Opportunities
- Software Stock Series: Noted investor Michael Burry is conducting a series of analyses on the software industry, with the first focusing on office software companies, emphasizing unique perspectives on AI threats that are expected to impact market evaluations of related stocks.
- Defensive Stock Recommendations: Burry identifies Freshworks and Paycom Software as relatively defensive against AI disruption, with the former rated “Chapel” due to internal AI initiatives and budget-friendly strategies, while the latter is seen as a strong defense rated “Stone” due to its database interfacing with regulatory agencies.
- Risk Warnings: Burry cautions investors to avoid HubSpot and Workday, with the former facing significant risks due to its core SMB customer base being heavily disrupted by AI, and the latter being extremely vulnerable due to its legacy business model amid AI-driven seat losses.
- Innovative Rating Framework: Burry employs a unique “owners’ earnings” framework and AI Competitive Threat classification to rate 46 software and payments companies, highlighting the high-risk exposure to small businesses and the protective role of strong databases.
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- Smartphone Market Slowdown: Arm Holdings fell over 6% in pre-market trading due to a memory chip shortage, which has slowed growth in the smartphone market, despite an improved outlook for AI data centers, impacting major tech companies reliant on Arm's services.
- Strong Demand for New CPU: Arm's new CPU has over $2 billion in customer demand over the next two financial years, indicating a positive market reception for its homegrown chips, which strengthens its position in the cloud computing sector, particularly among top hyperscalers with a 50% market share.
- Memory Stocks Rally: Micron Technology and Western Digital saw their stocks rise over 4% amid chip shortages and ongoing AI demand, demonstrating strong pricing power in the current market backdrop, although future prospects remain uncertain due to historical volatility.
- Celsius's Impressive Performance: Celsius Holdings reported a staggering 137.7% revenue increase in Q1, reaching $782.6 million, showcasing robust growth in both its core brand and Alani Nu, which boosts market confidence in its future performance.
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Paycom Software Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
- Revenue Growth: Paycom achieved total revenues of $572 million in Q1 2026, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase, which underscores the company's strong market performance under its full solution automation strategy, further solidifying its leadership position in the industry.
- Profitability Improvement: Adjusted EBITDA reached $275 million, representing a 50 basis point year-over-year expansion to 48.2%, indicating that the company has enhanced its profitability and investment appeal through operational efficiencies driven by automation.
- Stock Buyback Program: The company repurchased approximately 8.4 million shares in Q1 for a total of $1.06 billion and approved a new $2 billion buyback authorization on May 4, demonstrating a commitment to shareholder returns and confidence in the market.
- Outlook Reaffirmation: Management reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $2.175 billion to $2.195 billion and adjusted EBITDA expectations of $950 million to $970 million, indicating confidence in future growth and a stable business foundation.
See More
Paycom Recognized as Top Software Provider in G2 Reports
- Leading Software Categories: Paycom was recognized as the top software provider in HR Compliance and Implementation Index in G2's Summer 2026 Reports, showcasing its exceptional performance in HR and payroll management, thereby solidifying its market leadership.
- Payroll Management Advantage: Paycom scored highly in the payroll category, particularly for its ability to manage and streamline payroll processes, ensuring employees are paid accurately and on time, which enhances client trust and reliance on its products.
- Customer Feedback Driven: With over 200 G2 badges, including 141 Leader badges, Paycom reflects strong performance in customer satisfaction and market presence, further enhancing its brand image and reputation.
- Innovative Technology Application: Paycom's Beti® feature is praised by users as the
See More
BlockXYZ Shares Surge 24.9%: Key Factors Behind Growth
- Significant Profit Growth: Block's gross profit surged 27% year-over-year to $2.91 billion in Q1 2026, prompting management to raise full-year gross profit guidance to $12.33 billion, indicating a robust trajectory for profitability that is likely to support further stock price increases.
- Strong Cash App Performance: In Q1 2026, Cash App's gross profit rose 38% year-over-year to $1.91 billion, with monthly active users reaching 59 million, showcasing success in customer relationship management and innovation in financial tools, thereby solidifying Block's market position.
- Square Payment Volume Growth: Square's gross profit increased 9% year-over-year to $982 million, with gross payment volume (GPV) growing 13% to $61.2 billion; management expects GPV to continue rising in 2026 despite foreign exchange pressures, providing a stable revenue stream for the company.
- Expansion of Credit Business: Block's consumer lending origination volume soared 82% year-over-year to $17.6 billion, driven by strong performance in Cash App Borrow; management anticipates normalization of lending growth in Q2 2026, yet views embedded lending as a key long-term driver of profitability.
See More
Analysis of PAYC Dividend Predictions and Stock Performance
- Dividend Yield Expectation: PAYC currently has an annualized dividend yield of 1.10%, and while dividends are not always predictable, historical data can assist in assessing whether future dividends will continue, impacting investor return expectations.
- Price Volatility Range: PAYC's 52-week low is $106.62 and high is $267.76, with the last trade at $138.06, indicating relative stability within its price range, which may attract risk-averse investors.
- ETF Holding Proportion: According to ETF Channel, PAYC constitutes 3.90% of the Global X Cloud Computing ETF (CLOU), which is up about 2.9% on the day, highlighting PAYC's market influence in the cloud computing sector.
- Intraday Trading Performance: In Friday trading, Paycom Software Inc shares rose approximately 1.8%, reflecting optimistic market sentiment regarding its future performance, potentially attracting more investor attention to its dividends and growth potential.
See More
Burry Analyzes Software Stocks' Risks and Opportunities
- Software Stock Series: Noted investor Michael Burry is conducting a series of analyses on the software industry, with the first focusing on office software companies, emphasizing unique perspectives on AI threats that are expected to impact market evaluations of related stocks.
- Defensive Stock Recommendations: Burry identifies Freshworks and Paycom Software as relatively defensive against AI disruption, with the former rated “Chapel” due to internal AI initiatives and budget-friendly strategies, while the latter is seen as a strong defense rated “Stone” due to its database interfacing with regulatory agencies.
- Risk Warnings: Burry cautions investors to avoid HubSpot and Workday, with the former facing significant risks due to its core SMB customer base being heavily disrupted by AI, and the latter being extremely vulnerable due to its legacy business model amid AI-driven seat losses.
- Innovative Rating Framework: Burry employs a unique “owners’ earnings” framework and AI Competitive Threat classification to rate 46 software and payments companies, highlighting the high-risk exposure to small businesses and the protective role of strong databases.
See More
Arm Faces Challenges Amid Chip Supply Strains
- Smartphone Market Slowdown: Arm Holdings fell over 6% in pre-market trading due to a memory chip shortage, which has slowed growth in the smartphone market, despite an improved outlook for AI data centers, impacting major tech companies reliant on Arm's services.
- Strong Demand for New CPU: Arm's new CPU has over $2 billion in customer demand over the next two financial years, indicating a positive market reception for its homegrown chips, which strengthens its position in the cloud computing sector, particularly among top hyperscalers with a 50% market share.
- Memory Stocks Rally: Micron Technology and Western Digital saw their stocks rise over 4% amid chip shortages and ongoing AI demand, demonstrating strong pricing power in the current market backdrop, although future prospects remain uncertain due to historical volatility.
- Celsius's Impressive Performance: Celsius Holdings reported a staggering 137.7% revenue increase in Q1, reaching $782.6 million, showcasing robust growth in both its core brand and Alani Nu, which boosts market confidence in its future performance.
See More
Paycom Software Q1 2026 Earnings Call Highlights
- Revenue Growth: Paycom achieved total revenues of $572 million in Q1 2026, reflecting an 8% year-over-year increase, which underscores the company's strong market performance under its full solution automation strategy, further solidifying its leadership position in the industry.
- Profitability Improvement: Adjusted EBITDA reached $275 million, representing a 50 basis point year-over-year expansion to 48.2%, indicating that the company has enhanced its profitability and investment appeal through operational efficiencies driven by automation.
- Stock Buyback Program: The company repurchased approximately 8.4 million shares in Q1 for a total of $1.06 billion and approved a new $2 billion buyback authorization on May 4, demonstrating a commitment to shareholder returns and confidence in the market.
- Outlook Reaffirmation: Management reaffirmed its full-year revenue guidance of $2.175 billion to $2.195 billion and adjusted EBITDA expectations of $950 million to $970 million, indicating confidence in future growth and a stable business foundation.
See More
