Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Stake Lowered by LPL Financial LLC

LPL Financial LLC trimmed its position in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 13.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 25,977 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 4,015 shares during the quarter. LPL Financial LLC’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $6,485,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $158,318,000 after buying an additional 632,545 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $66,680,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Aspen Technology by 89.2% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,799,000 after acquiring an additional 171,351 shares during the last quarter. Amundi grew its position in Aspen Technology by 345.7% in the fourth quarter. Amundi now owns 142,897 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,874,000 after acquiring an additional 110,838 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alpine Associates Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter worth $14,903,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.33 on Monday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.66 and its 200-day simple moving average is $251.89.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on AZPN shares. StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Baird R W cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Aspen Technology has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

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.