Dark Forest Capital Management LP Makes New $430,000 Investment in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 1,723 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its position 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 valued at $158,318,000 after buying an additional 632,545 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter worth $70,813,000. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter worth $66,680,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $86,799,000 after acquiring an additional 171,351 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of AZPN opened at $264.33 on Friday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $264.37 and a 200 day moving average of $255.05. The company has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.25 and a 52-week high of $277.37.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have commented on the stock. Baird R W downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird restated a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Wednesday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Loop Capital raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their target price for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a report on Monday, February 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler boosted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Six 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 has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.00.

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.