Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Cut to “Hold” at Baird R W

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) was downgraded by analysts at Baird R W from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

AZPN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Piper Sandler increased their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $261.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 0.2 %

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a PE ratio of -455.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology has a 52-week low of $171.25 and a 52-week high of $264.43. The company’s 50 day moving average is $251.28 and its two-hundred day moving average is $233.27.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). The business 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%. Aspen Technology’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after purchasing an additional 171,351 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 31.0% during the 3rd quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 166,352 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,728,000 after purchasing an additional 39,396 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 6.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,832 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,082,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares during the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 15.9% during the 3rd quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew 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 worth $139,156,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.