Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $255.54 and last traded at $255.02, with a volume of 120748 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $251.52.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on AZPN. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Aspen Technology in a report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Piper Sandler raised their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $258.00.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 1.6 %

The business’s 50 day moving average price is $249.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $230.50. The company has a market capitalization of $16.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -440.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZPN. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in 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 during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the 3rd quarter valued at about $290,880,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake 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 valued at $104,199,000 after buying an additional 109,783 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 116.9% during the third quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,635,000 after acquiring an additional 105,254 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.