BMO Capital Markets Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Stock

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) had its target price increased by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $287.00 to $308.00 in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “market perform” rating on the software company’s stock. BMO Capital Markets’ target price would indicate a potential downside of 3.13% from the company’s previous close.

ADSK has been the topic of several other reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Autodesk in a report on Monday, November 18th. They set a “sector outperform” rating and a $360.00 price objective on the stock. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $239.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Rosenblatt Securities upped their target price on shares of Autodesk from $295.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price target on Autodesk from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Autodesk from $290.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $311.86.

Autodesk Price Performance

NASDAQ ADSK opened at $317.96 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $68.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.02, a PEG ratio of 4.08 and a beta of 1.47. Autodesk has a 12 month low of $195.32 and a 12 month high of $326.62. The company’s 50 day moving average is $288.49 and its two-hundred day moving average is $256.59. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The software company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.12 by $0.05. Autodesk had a return on equity of 59.41% and a net margin of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Autodesk will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Autodesk

In other Autodesk news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 286 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, September 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $274.84, for a total transaction of $78,604.24. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,340,944.36. This represents a 5.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total transaction of $4,682,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,099 shares in the company, valued at $4,616,730. This represents a 50.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,280 shares of company stock valued at $5,232,213 over the last ninety days. 0.14% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Starboard Value LP purchased a new position in shares of Autodesk in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $510,189,000. Ninety One UK Ltd grew its stake in Autodesk by 28.0% during the 2nd quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,071,950 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,255,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,973 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 100.9% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,642,973 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $406,554,000 after purchasing an additional 825,165 shares during the period. Point72 Asset Management L.P. raised its stake in shares of Autodesk by 366.5% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,040 shares of the software company’s stock worth $208,610,000 after purchasing an additional 662,339 shares during the last quarter. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Autodesk by 58,375.5% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 567,797 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,564,170,000 after purchasing an additional 566,826 shares during the period. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.