Hsbc Global Res Upgrades Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) to Strong-Buy

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) was upgraded by analysts at Hsbc Global Res to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Tuesday, Zacks.com reports.

A number of other brokerages have also issued reports on ADSK. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Autodesk from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $290.00 to $320.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Autodesk from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. HSBC upgraded Autodesk from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $242.00 to $299.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Autodesk from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $225.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $292.17.

Autodesk Price Performance

Shares of ADSK opened at $255.79 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $55.13 billion, a PE ratio of 55.37, a PEG ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $246.91 and its 200 day moving average price is $239.18. Autodesk has a twelve month low of $192.01 and a twelve month high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. Autodesk had a return on equity of 64.61% and a net margin of 18.21%. The firm’s revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.12 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Autodesk will post 5.55 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.40, for a total value of $3,942,303.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 54,136 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,256,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,413 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.40, for a total value of $3,942,303.20. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 54,136 shares in the company, valued at $12,256,390.40. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 1,100 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $226.21, for a total transaction of $248,831.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 32,116 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,264,960.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 57,275 shares of company stock valued at $14,220,661. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 263.6% during the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,294,746 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,639,279,000 after purchasing an additional 4,563,668 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth about $619,404,000. Ninety One UK Ltd increased its holdings in Autodesk by 28.0% in the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,071,950 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,255,054,000 after buying an additional 1,108,973 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 100.9% in the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,642,973 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $406,554,000 after buying an additional 825,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 366.5% in the 2nd quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,040 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $208,610,000 after buying an additional 662,339 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.