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

Stock analysts at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a report issued on Friday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Loop Capital boosted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler boosted their target price on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. 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 report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $253.00.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of AZPN opened at $250.85 on Friday. Aspen Technology has a 12-month low of $171.25 and a 12-month high of $251.13. The company has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of -432.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s 50 day moving average is $238.78 and its 200 day moving average is $217.40.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Aspen Technology

In other 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 approximately $1,871,114. This trade represents a 10.48 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 1,034.4% in the first quarter. DekaBank Deutsche Girozentrale now owns 38,445 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,895,000 after buying an additional 35,056 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology in the second quarter worth $3,042,000. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 89.4% during the first quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,114 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $432,000 after purchasing an additional 998 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.2% during the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,156,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the period. Finally, Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 18.3% in the second quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 126,956 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,217,000 after purchasing an additional 19,637 shares during the last quarter. 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.