StockNews.com Begins Coverage on Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN)

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

AZPN has been the subject of several other research reports. Baird R W downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $264.01 and a 200-day moving average of $250.93. Aspen Technology has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve month high of $277.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,082,000 after acquiring an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 15.9% in the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,550,000 after buying an additional 3,186 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC grew its position in Aspen Technology by 51.2% during the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,369 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after acquiring an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.9% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 8,129 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,941,000 after purchasing an additional 455 shares during the last quarter. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 116.9% in the third quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,635,000 after buying an additional 105,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.