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

StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a report issued on Saturday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Loop Capital increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Bank of America upped their target price on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $250.00 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $240.40 and a 200 day simple moving average of $219.14. The stock has a market cap of $15.81 billion, a P/E ratio of -431.03, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $171.25 and a 1-year high of $254.04.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $215.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,090,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $812,459,000 after purchasing an additional 65,143 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 5.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,156,000 after acquiring an additional 28,820 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 38.5% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,014,000 after acquiring an additional 153,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 26.5% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,199,000 after acquiring an additional 109,783 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 3.8% in the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 340,166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,567,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.