Bailard Inc. Grows Stock Holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Bailard Inc. raised its stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 0.9% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 4,541 shares of the technology company’s stock after purchasing an additional 41 shares during the quarter. Bailard Inc.’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $1,134,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $3,801,000. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2.0% during the 4th quarter. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund now owns 15,250 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $3,807,000 after purchasing an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 4.8% during the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,415 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $353,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 9.2% during the 4th quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 2,219 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $554,000 after purchasing an additional 187 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Financial Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter valued at about $2,991,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on AZPN shares. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. Berenberg Bank cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Wednesday, February 26th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Aspen Technology has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $265.00 on Tuesday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $258.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $245.01. The company has a market capitalization of $16.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,312.91, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $171.25 and a 1 year high of $277.37.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. Equities analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Aspen Technology 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.