Paychex beat earnings expectations by 10% but the price is overvalued

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Updated on Aug 14, 2024

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Paychex recorded growth in revenues and income for the third quarter.
The share price of $136.89 is close to the year’s highest and at a significant resistance level.
Signs of a weak breakout are evident but investors should hold.

Paychex Inc. (NASDAQ:PAYX) beat Q3-2022 earnings expectations by 10%. The performance reflected strong growth in revenues and income. The share price gained 6.36%, from $128 to $136 on the announcement. While the price movement is a great reflection of the performance, investors need to study the price a little more closely.

Paychex is trading at a price of $136.89, a day after the announcement. The valuation is on the upper side of the year range of $92.74 – $138.97. The price level is also at a key resistance level, leading to the question of what to expect with the price movements.

The stock has a PEG ratio of 5.02, indicating that it is certainly overvalued. It scores D on value and growth indicators, with an F-score on momentum. Despite beating expectations, the scores indicate that there is nothing fundamentally so critical as to take the stock price higher.

Paychex at a key resistance level of $136

From a technical perspective, Paychex appears to have picked bullish momentum on the MACD. The RSI 65.74 tends towards the overbought region. Historically, Paychex trades very close to RSI 70 often and for several weeks at a time. For the investor, this means that holding the stock until it hits the levels may not be a bad idea. Zacks ranks Paychex as a hold. What this analysis would like to emphasize is that buying Paychex at the current highs may not be a good idea.

Summary

Paychex beat earnings expectations for Q3 by 10%. The price is trading at a historically high price and an important resistance level with weak signs of a breakout. Holding the stock is advisable, but buying is not.