Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Rating Increased to Buy at Loop Capital

Loop Capital upgraded shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report issued on Monday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Loop Capital currently has $315.00 price target on the technology company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $265.00.

Several other equities analysts also recently weighed in on AZPN. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Berenberg Bank cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Baird R W cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

AZPN opened at $265.50 on Monday. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $171.25 and a 1-year high of $277.37. The stock has a market cap of $16.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,319.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $253.88 and its 200 day simple moving average is $237.32.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its earnings results 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 return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. Research analysts expect that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of AZPN. Bailard Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 0.9% during the 4th quarter. Bailard Inc. now owns 4,541 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,134,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 4,197 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Commerce Bank raised its position in Aspen Technology by 3.1% in the third quarter. Commerce Bank now owns 1,550 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $370,000 after purchasing an additional 47 shares during the period. Heritage Family Offices LLP boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.8% in the fourth quarter. Heritage Family Offices LLP now owns 1,725 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $431,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. Finally, US Bancorp DE grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 0.4% in the third quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 13,695 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,271,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.