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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a report released on Sunday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently weighed in on AZPN. 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. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their target price on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. Aspen Technology has a 1 year low of $171.25 and a 1 year high of $277.37. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $263.75 and its 200-day simple moving average is $250.48. The firm has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. As a group, research analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZPN. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in Aspen Technology by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,134,000 after buying an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 4,197 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the period. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in Aspen Technology by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 192 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 2.8% during the 4th quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,725 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in Aspen Technology by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.