Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) by 2.6% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,273 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.43% of Simulations Plus worth $2,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the business. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 82.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares during the period. nVerses Capital LLC boosted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 1,100.0% during the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $59,000. US Bancorp DE grew its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,974 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares during the period. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Simulations Plus in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $206,000. 78.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Trading Up 2.9 %

Shares of SLP stock opened at $28.73 on Friday. Simulations Plus, Inc. has a twelve month low of $27.07 and a twelve month high of $51.22. The company has a market capitalization of $577.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.63 and a beta of 0.80. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $29.82 and a 200 day moving average price of $34.47.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The business had revenue of $18.70 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $19.73 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BTIG Research lowered their price objective on shares of Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.40.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $27.66, for a total transaction of $553,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,462,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $95,775,073.44. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

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.