Renaissance Technologies LLC Makes New $13.75 Million Investment in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 55,080 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $13,750,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC owned 0.09% of Aspen Technology at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of AZPN. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $44,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp lifted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 965.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 5,700.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 30.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 251 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $63,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Tuesday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.33 on Tuesday. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $264.70 and its 200-day moving average price is $253.42. The company has a market cap 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 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.