Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a report published on Sunday morning. The brokerage issued a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reissued 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. Finally, Baird R W lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.33 on Friday. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $264.18 and a 200 day moving average price of $251.21. Aspen Technology has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $172,479,000 after buying an additional 661,820 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,318,000 after acquiring an additional 632,545 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG grew its position in Aspen Technology by 351.6% in the fourth quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,410 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $127,164,000 after acquiring an additional 396,607 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $70,813,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter worth $66,680,000. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.