Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Upgraded at ValuEngine

Posted by Andrew Walz on Dec 3rd, 2019

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) was upgraded by research analysts at ValuEngine from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report released on Tuesday, ValuEngine reports.

A number of other research firms also recently weighed in on AZPN. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $155.00 target price (up from $146.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, August 12th. BidaskClub upgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong sell” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 28th. Bank of America reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $136.00 price target (up previously from $130.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Thursday, August 8th. Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $152.00 price target (up previously from $133.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday, August 12th. Finally, KeyCorp upped their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $124.00 to $141.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, August 8th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $134.57.

NASDAQ AZPN opened at $122.49 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.98, a quick ratio of 0.98 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.07. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $75.01 and a 1-year high of $142.15. The company has a 50 day moving average of $118.58 and a 200-day moving average of $124.62. The company has a market cap of $8.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.49 and a beta of 1.56.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The technology company reported $0.79 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $0.49 by $0.30. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 67.12% and a net margin of 43.83%. The business had revenue of $134.09 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $119.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.64 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 17.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 3.32 earnings per share for the current year.

In other Aspen Technology news, CFO Karl E. Johnsen sold 2,310 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $116.82, for a total transaction of $269,854.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 28,667 shares in the company, valued at $3,348,878.94. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by insiders.

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the second quarter worth about $68,000. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 83.8% in the second quarter. Quantitative Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 4,300 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $534,000 after buying an additional 1,960 shares in the last quarter. Dearborn Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology in the second quarter valued at approximately $232,000. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 1,861.3% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 86,515 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $10,752,000 after purchasing an additional 82,104 shares during the period. Finally, BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA raised its position in Aspen Technology by 84.4% during the 2nd quarter. BNP Paribas Arbitrage SA now owns 7,242 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $900,000 after purchasing an additional 3,314 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 97.11% of the company’s stock.

About Aspen Technology

Aspen Technology, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as an asset optimization software company in the United States, Europe, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, Subscription and Software, and Services. It supplies asset optimization solutions that optimize asset design, operations, and maintenance lifecycle in various industrial environments.