Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Stock

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) had its target price upped by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $320.00 to $340.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the software company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price points to a potential upside of 13.66% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently weighed in on ADSK. Berenberg Bank upped their target price on shares of Autodesk from $286.00 to $299.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $254.00 to $287.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on Autodesk from $310.00 to $355.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Autodesk in a report on Monday, September 30th. Finally, HSBC upgraded Autodesk from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $299.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Eight equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $296.20.

Autodesk Price Performance

Autodesk stock opened at $299.15 on Friday. Autodesk has a 1 year low of $195.32 and a 1 year high of $315.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $281.32 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.23. The company has a market cap of $64.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 61.18, a PEG ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.47.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.15. Autodesk had a return on equity of 59.41% and a net margin of 18.21%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.12 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Autodesk will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Autodesk

In other Autodesk news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 286 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction on Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.84, for a total transaction of $78,604.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,944.36. The trade was a 5.54 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total value of $167,783.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 30,249 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,227,759.94. This represents a 1.79 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,280 shares of company stock worth $5,232,213. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. New Covenant Trust Company N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Autodesk in the 1st quarter valued at about $25,000. LRI Investments LLC bought a new position in shares of Autodesk during the first quarter worth about $26,000. Livelsberger Financial Advisory acquired a new stake in Autodesk in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Transcendent Capital Group LLC bought a new stake in Autodesk in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Concord Wealth Partners acquired a new position in Autodesk during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Institutional investors own 90.24% of the company’s stock.

Autodesk Company Profile

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.