Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Coverage Initiated at StockNews.com

Equities research analysts at StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a research report issued on Tuesday. The brokerage set a “hold” rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. 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 research report on Monday, February 10th. Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Baird R W cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.59 on Tuesday. Aspen Technology has a fifty-two week low of $171.25 and a fifty-two week high of $277.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.75 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,307.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.01 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $256.14 and its 200-day moving average price is $241.29.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,831,209 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $706,755,000 after acquiring an additional 36,497 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% in the fourth 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 during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 12,456 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. raised its position in Aspen Technology by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,156,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.