Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Raised to Buy at Loop Capital

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) was upgraded by analysts at Loop Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage presently has a $315.00 target price on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous target price of $265.00. Loop Capital’s target price points to a potential upside of 18.68% from the stock’s previous close.

AZPN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Baird R W lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

AZPN opened at $265.43 on Monday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $254.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.85. Aspen Technology has a 1 year low of $171.25 and a 1 year high of $277.37. The firm has a market cap of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,318.29, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76.

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 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%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at $44,000. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $48,000. Jones Financial Companies Lllp boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 965.0% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5,700.0% during the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 232 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $58,000 after purchasing an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.