Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) from a sell rating to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the company. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp increased their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $49.40.

Simulations Plus Stock Up 7.8 %

SLP opened at $25.68 on Friday. Simulations Plus has a 52-week low of $23.01 and a 52-week high of $51.22. The company has a market cap of $515.96 million, a P/E ratio of 64.20 and a beta of 1.13. The company has a 50 day moving average of $30.03 and a two-hundred day moving average of $30.27.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.06. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 10.97%. The business had revenue of $22.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Simulations Plus will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.91, for a total value of $678,200.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,402,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,381,623.44. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 19.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLP. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 7,753.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 542,899 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $15,141,000 after buying an additional 535,986 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 15.0% during the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,226,262 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,090,000 after acquiring an additional 290,414 shares during the period. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 56.6% during the fourth quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 371,797 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,369,000 after acquiring an additional 134,381 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new stake in Simulations Plus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $3,418,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Simulations Plus by 59.4% in the fourth quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 289,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,068,000 after purchasing an additional 107,766 shares during the period. 78.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.