Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Upgraded to “Buy” at Loop Capital

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research report report published on Monday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Loop Capital currently has $315.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $265.00.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on AZPN. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aspen Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 3.4 %

Shares of AZPN opened at $265.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,319.16, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $253.88 and its 200-day simple moving average is $237.32. Aspen Technology has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve month high of $277.37.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. On average, analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter worth $66,680,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after acquiring an additional 171,351 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in Aspen Technology in the third quarter worth $290,880,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 345.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 142,897 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,874,000 after acquiring an additional 110,838 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.