Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Sees Large Volume Increase – Here’s What Happened

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) shares saw unusually-high trading volume on Thursday . Approximately 313,701 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 123% from the previous session’s volume of 140,905 shares.The stock last traded at $31.90 and had previously closed at $30.63.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 24th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. Stephens initiated coverage on Simulations Plus in a report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price on the stock. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.40.

Simulations Plus Trading Down 3.1 %

The firm has a market capitalization of $620.77 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.12 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.79 and its 200 day moving average is $36.55.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $18.70 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.73 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 14.15%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Simulations Plus

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, December 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $31.76, for a total transaction of $635,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,442,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,336,467.84. This 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 is accessible through this link. Insiders sold a total of 60,750 shares of company stock worth $1,837,255 in the last quarter. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLP. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV increased its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 3.6% in the second quarter. Azzad Asset Management Inc. ADV now owns 8,007 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $389,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. raised its stake in Simulations Plus by 82.6% in the third quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company raised its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,391 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $311,000 after buying an additional 456 shares in the last quarter. Pitcairn Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter. Pitcairn Co. now owns 6,599 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $211,000 after acquiring an additional 549 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Simulations Plus by 7.6% in the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,797 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $342,000 after acquiring an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.