Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a large decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the November 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Currently, 3.8% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 345,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of AZPN traded down $2.17 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $248.80. The company had a trading volume of 595,101 shares, compared to its average volume of 250,960. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $243.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $221.28. The company has a market capitalization of $15.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -428.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $171.25 and a 1-year high of $254.44.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The company had revenue of $215.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 77.8% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its position in Aspen Technology by 313.2% during the 2nd quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares during the period. Quent Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 364.9% in the 3rd quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. bought a new position in Aspen Technology during the second quarter worth $37,000. Finally, Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt acquired a new position in Aspen Technology in the third quarter valued at $48,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have weighed in on AZPN shares. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Sunday, December 8th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $258.00.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

Aspen Technology, Inc provides industrial software that focuses on helping customers in asset-intensive industries worldwide. The company’s solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. Its software is used in performance engineering, modeling and design, supply chain management, predictive and prescriptive maintenance, digital grid management, and industrial data management.