Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sets New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)’s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Piper Sandler raised their price target on the stock from $217.00 to $240.00. Piper Sandler currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Aspen Technology traded as high as $248.00 and last traded at $244.30, with a volume of 199625 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $237.59.

AZPN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aspen Technology

In other news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total value of $219,100.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,871,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZPN. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 77.8% during the second quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Mather Group LLC. raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 130 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 313.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

The business has a fifty day moving average of $233.16 and a 200 day moving average of $212.94. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,504.41, a PEG ratio of 2.73 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 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 analysts’ expectations of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 0.87%. Aspen Technology’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $0.96 EPS. On average, equities research analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current 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.