Wells Fargo & Company MN Sells 42,032 Shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Wells Fargo & Company MN lessened its holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 7.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 504,815 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 42,032 shares during the period. Wells Fargo & Company MN’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $126,017,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. FMR LLC grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 4,369 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,043,000 after purchasing an additional 1,480 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.5% during the third quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $763,000 after buying an additional 167 shares during the last quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the third quarter worth $214,000. Quantinno Capital Management LP bought a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at $377,000. Finally, Weiss Asset Management LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at $375,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Baird R W downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Piper Sandler upped their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ AZPN opened at $264.33 on Monday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $264.66 and its 200-day moving average price is $251.89. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.25 and a 52-week high of $277.37. The company has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 3,304.54, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. Analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.