Pegasystems upgraded to Outperform at William Blair after positive Appian appeal

As previously reported, William Blair analyst Jake Roberge upgraded Pegasystems (PEGA) to Outperform from Market Perform following a positive ruling in its appeals case with Appian (AAPN) that reversed a lower court’s judgement for Appian’s trade secret claims. While the case will likely be re-tried by Appian and some lawsuit risk remains for Pegasystems, the firm believes the findings from the appellate court “are a large positive for Pega’s stock” and help limit the potential downside when compared to the initial $2B jury verdict. In addition to the positive court ruling, the firm believes the fundamental story is also improving now that the company’s subscription transition is complete, the analyst tells investors.