Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sets New 52-Week High – Should You Buy?

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) shares hit a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as high as $255.54 and last traded at $255.02, with a volume of 120748 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $251.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Berenberg Bank downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. StockNews.com started coverage on Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.00.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 1.6 %

The stock has a fifty day moving average of $249.82 and a two-hundred day moving average of $230.50. The stock has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -440.60, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $215.90 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 0.6% in the fourth quarter. Linden Thomas Advisory Services LLC now owns 11,064 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $2,762,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 13.5% during the 4th quarter. Curated Wealth Partners LLC now owns 1,299 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $324,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $262,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter worth about $216,000. Finally, Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC raised its position in Aspen Technology by 6.4% in the 4th quarter. Mitchell & Pahl Private Wealth LLC now owns 2,964 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $740,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

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.