Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Significant Drop in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the recipient of a large drop in short interest during the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a drop of 8.2% from the June 30th total of 1,460,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 211,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 6.3 days. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,014,000 after purchasing an additional 153,897 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter worth about $31,630,000. International Assets Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,309,000. Clean Energy Transition LLP purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the first quarter valued at approximately $22,110,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 52.9% in the 1st quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 293,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,657,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently weighed in on the stock. William Blair upgraded shares of Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Piper Sandler decreased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $255.00 in a report on Friday, May 17th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Friday, June 14th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aspen Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $219.50.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

AZPN traded down $4.41 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $183.54. The stock had a trading volume of 37,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 201,082. The company has a market cap of $11.62 billion, a P/E ratio of -427.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology has a 1 year low of $162.26 and a 1 year high of $224.77. The business has a fifty day moving average of $199.27 and a 200 day moving average of $199.85.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.15 by $0.39. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 2.76%. The business had revenue of $278.11 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $251.65 million. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

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.