StockNews.com Initiates Coverage on Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN)

StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a research report released on Friday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Berenberg Bank cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Bank of America increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Loop Capital boosted their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 0.0 %

Aspen Technology stock opened at $250.94 on Friday. Aspen Technology has a 52-week low of $171.25 and a 52-week high of $251.44. The firm has a market cap of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of -432.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average is $238.78 and its two-hundred day moving average is $217.74.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 3.26% and a positive return on equity of 2.81%. The company had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aspen Technology

In related news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total value of $219,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,871,114. This trade represents a 10.48 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its position in Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,014,000 after acquiring an additional 153,897 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $290,880,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,199,000 after purchasing an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aspen Technology by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,635,000 after buying an additional 105,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $19,928,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

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.