Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Short Interest Up 19.6% in December

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) saw a large increase in short interest in the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the November 30th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average trading volume of 395,300 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after buying an additional 171,351 shares in the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Aspen Technology during the third quarter worth about $290,880,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 26.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,199,000 after acquiring an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. American Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,635,000 after purchasing an additional 105,254 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $19,928,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ:AZPN traded up $0.54 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $249.49. 249,118 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,958. Aspen Technology has a one year low of $171.25 and a one year high of $254.44. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $246.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.79. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.78 billion, a PE ratio of -430.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). The company had revenue of $215.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. Aspen Technology’s revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on the company. Bank of America boosted their price target on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.00.

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.