Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a research report issued on Friday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also weighed in on AZPN. Baird R W lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued 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. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $260.81 and its 200-day moving average is $247.34. Aspen Technology has a 1 year low of $171.25 and a 1 year high of $277.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,831,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $706,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,497 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 623,820 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $155,721,000 after purchasing an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 351.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $127,164,000 after purchasing an additional 396,607 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently 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.