Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Shares Up 7.1%

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)’s stock price shot up 7.1% during mid-day trading on Wednesday . The company traded as high as $203.13 and last traded at $202.24. 195,156 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 5% from the average session volume of 205,276 shares. The stock had previously closed at $188.77.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on AZPN shares. Robert W. Baird reduced their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday. StockNews.com raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler reduced their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $201.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 4.8 %

The company has a market cap of $12.57 billion, a PE ratio of -139.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average is $202.39 and its 200-day moving average is $196.44.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.06). The firm had revenue of $257.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.70 million. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 8.17% and a positive return on equity of 2.38%. Analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 3.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,721,956 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $760,247,000 after buying an additional 124,934 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,959 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $215,920,000 after purchasing an additional 119,102 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 7.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 612,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,737,000 after buying an additional 44,824 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 415,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $91,508,000 after buying an additional 8,856 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.6% in the 4th quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 313,105 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $68,931,000 after buying an additional 16,649 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.