Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, an increase of 6.5% from the May 31st total of 1,390,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 212,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 7.0 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. LPL Financial LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 19.6% during the 3rd quarter. LPL Financial LLC now owns 19,388 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,960,000 after acquiring an additional 3,179 shares in the last quarter. Mariner LLC raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 11.1% during the 3rd quarter. Mariner LLC now owns 3,759 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $768,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares in the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 12,254 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,503,000 after acquiring an additional 60 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 71.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,446 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $500,000 after acquiring an additional 1,020 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Toronto Dominion Bank raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 79,514.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,573 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after acquiring an additional 5,566 shares in the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

AZPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair upgraded Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler cut their price target on Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $185.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $219.50.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 2.3 %

Shares of NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $199.53 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $204.68 and a 200 day moving average of $202.59. The company has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a PE ratio of -453.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology has a 12-month low of $162.26 and a 12-month high of $224.77.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.54 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.39. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.76% and a negative net margin of 2.46%. The company had revenue of $278.11 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.65 million. Equities research analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.