Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began 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.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of Aspen Technology stock opened at $250.96 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.87 billion, a PE ratio of -432.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $254.44. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $249.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $229.30.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 business had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,090,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,459,000 after purchasing an additional 65,143 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,318,000 after buying an additional 632,545 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Aspen Technology by 5.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,156,000 after acquiring an additional 28,820 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 26.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $104,199,000 after acquiring an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,799,000 after acquiring an additional 171,351 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

About Aspen Technology

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.