Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Shares Gap Down – Time to Sell?

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)’s share price gapped down before the market opened on Monday . The stock had previously closed at $274.80, but opened at $268.09. Aspen Technology shares last traded at $268.54, with a volume of 118,894 shares traded.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently weighed in on AZPN. Piper Sandler upped their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday. 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, StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 0.0 %

The firm’s 50-day moving average is $254.22 and its 200 day moving average is $237.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,318.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. Analysts predict 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 modified their holdings of AZPN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position 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 during the period. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 31.0% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 166,352 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $39,728,000 after purchasing an additional 39,396 shares during the period. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,082,000 after purchasing an additional 10,327 shares in the last quarter. Citigroup Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 15.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $5,550,000 after purchasing an additional 3,186 shares during the period. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is owned by 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.