Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Shares Gap Down After Insider Selling

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) shares gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $46.86, but opened at $42.85. Simulations Plus shares last traded at $40.68, with a volume of 73,008 shares trading hands.

Specifically, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.95, for a total transaction of $919,000.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,580,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,540,379.15. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.95, for a total transaction of $919,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,580,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $164,540,379.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 44,500 shares of company stock worth $2,072,198 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages recently commented on SLP. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 price target on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is $47.68 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $44.15. The company has a market capitalization of $797.20 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.26 and a beta of 0.72.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.15 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $18.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.92 million. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 0.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th will be issued a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.60%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Monday, July 29th. Simulations Plus’s payout ratio is 45.28%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLP. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 12.5% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,259,176 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $101,098,000 after purchasing an additional 251,299 shares in the last quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the fourth quarter valued at about $9,190,000. Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd bought a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the fourth quarter valued at about $7,156,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the first quarter valued at about $4,717,000. Finally, Wasatch Advisors LP raised its position in Simulations Plus by 36.5% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 381,693 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,707,000 after acquiring an additional 102,135 shares during the period. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Simulations Plus Company Profile

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.