Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

SLP has been the subject of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, June 13th. Craig Hallum reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Simulations Plus in a report on Monday, July 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Thursday, September 12th. Finally, JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company.

Insider Activity at Simulations Plus

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total transaction of $934,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,540,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $165,393,430.47. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total value of $934,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,540,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165,393,430.47. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 60,750 shares of company stock worth $2,467,390. Insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 36.5% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 381,693 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,707,000 after acquiring an additional 102,135 shares in the last quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA increased its holdings in Simulations Plus by 34.6% during the 1st quarter. Congress Asset Management Co. MA now owns 171,490 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,057,000 after purchasing an additional 44,129 shares during the period. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in Simulations Plus in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simulations Plus in the 1st quarter valued at about $4,717,000. Finally, Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 49.0% during the first quarter. Hennion & Walsh Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,845 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,475,000 after buying an additional 11,794 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

Simulations Plus Stock Performance

Shares of Simulations Plus stock opened at $32.05 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $641.26 million, a PE ratio of 66.77 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $37.52 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $42.90. Simulations Plus has a one year low of $31.75 and a one year high of $51.22.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $18.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.92 million. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 7.80%. Simulations Plus’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.20 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Simulations Plus will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a $0.06 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.75%. Simulations Plus’s payout ratio is 50.00%.

About Simulations Plus

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.