Acadian Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 560 Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 560 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $110,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,014,000 after buying an additional 153,897 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,630,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 1st quarter valued at about $22,110,000. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 52.9% during the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 293,778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,657,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 602.2% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 74,199 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $16,335,000 after purchasing an additional 63,632 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at Aspen Technology

In related news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of Aspen Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total transaction of $219,100.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,871,114. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on AZPN. Robert W. Baird increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday. Bank of America lifted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Piper Sandler increased their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.40.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 1.5 %

Shares of AZPN stock opened at $235.56 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.72 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $206.26. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $162.26 and a 12 month high of $240.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $14.92 billion, a PE ratio of -535.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.75.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The company had revenue of $342.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.10 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.87 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.