Morgan Stanley Increases Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Price Target to $375.00

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $320.00 to $375.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the software company’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 16.72% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. HSBC raised Autodesk from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $242.00 to $299.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Autodesk from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $320.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, November 15th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Autodesk from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $225.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Autodesk in a research note on Wednesday, October 16th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $340.00 price target on the stock. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Autodesk has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $309.43.

Autodesk Trading Up 1.9 %

NASDAQ:ADSK opened at $321.27 on Friday. Autodesk has a 52-week low of $195.32 and a 52-week high of $321.90. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $286.44 and a 200-day simple moving average of $254.89. The company has a market capitalization of $69.07 billion, a PE ratio of 65.70, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.03 and a beta of 1.47.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.15. Autodesk had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 59.41%. The company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts expect that Autodesk will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Autodesk

In related news, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $265.50, for a total transaction of $146,025.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,323,159.50. The trade was a 1.72 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $4,682,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,616,730. This trade represents a 50.36 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,280 shares of company stock valued at $5,232,213 over the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in ADSK. Jag Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Autodesk in the 3rd quarter worth $13,861,000. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in Autodesk by 163.4% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 61,574 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $16,035,000 after purchasing an additional 38,196 shares during the last quarter. Forsta AP Fonden grew its stake in Autodesk by 7.9% during the 3rd quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 51,600 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $14,215,000 after purchasing an additional 3,800 shares in the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in Autodesk by 32.0% during the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 13,437 shares of the software company’s stock worth $3,702,000 after purchasing an additional 3,259 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Primecap Management Co. CA raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 8.2% in the 2nd quarter. Primecap Management Co. CA now owns 655,900 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $162,302,000 after purchasing an additional 49,500 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.