StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN)

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

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on AZPN. Loop Capital upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective 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 downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six 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 stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $261.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $247.92.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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%. Equities analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in AZPN. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 351.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,410 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $127,164,000 after purchasing an additional 396,607 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $70,813,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at about $66,680,000. 45.66% of the stock is 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.