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

Equities researchers at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a report released on Monday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler lifted 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 raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.33 on Monday. Aspen Technology has a 12-month low of $171.25 and a 12-month high of $277.37. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $264.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $251.89.

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 net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,831,209 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $706,755,000 after buying an additional 36,497 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 661,820 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 632,545 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 623,820 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $155,721,000 after acquiring an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Deutsche Bank AG lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 351.6% in the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $127,164,000 after purchasing an additional 396,607 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is owned by 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.