Short Interest in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Expands By 5.8%

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a large growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,450,000 shares, a growth of 5.8% from the March 15th total of 1,370,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 206,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 7.0 days. Approximately 5.4% of the company’s shares are short sold.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZPN shares. Piper Sandler reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 target price on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. StockNews.com raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.25.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZPN. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $29,000. Compass Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Belpointe Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 88.0% in the first quarter. Belpointe Asset Management LLC now owns 141 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $32,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology during the second quarter worth $34,000. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 43.9% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 226 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Down 1.5 %

AZPN stock opened at $197.48 on Thursday. Aspen Technology has a twelve month low of $161.32 and a twelve month high of $236.78. The firm has a market cap of $12.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -146.28, a PEG ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.77. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $198.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $196.53.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.23 by ($0.06). Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 8.17% and a positive return on equity of 2.38%. The firm had revenue of $257.16 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.70 million. Research analysts expect that Aspen Technology will post 5.82 EPS 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.