Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Short Interest Down 14.8% in January

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in January. As of January 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a decrease of 14.8% from the January 15th total of 1,420,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are short sold. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 577,600 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 2.1 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AZPN shares. StockNews.com started coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, February 10th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of AZPN. Bailard Inc. increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after acquiring an additional 41 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.0% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 192 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Commerce Bank increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 3.1% during the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,550 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $370,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Heritage Family Offices LLP increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,725 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 47 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of AZPN opened at $264.78 on Monday. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $255.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $239.96. The stock has a market cap of $16.76 billion, a PE ratio of 3,310.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology has a 12 month low of $171.25 and a 12 month high of $277.37.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

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.