Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sets New 12-Month High at $228.17

Shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $228.17 and last traded at $228.17, with a volume of 58804 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $219.48.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZPN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their target price for the company from $185.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler cut their target price on Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. William Blair upgraded Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $224.50.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 4.7 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $14.55 billion, a P/E ratio of -498.82, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $199.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $201.06.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.76% and a negative net margin of 2.46%. The business had revenue of $342.91 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.10 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. Aspen Technology’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZPN. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,090,314 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $812,459,000 after purchasing an additional 65,143 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its position in Aspen Technology by 7.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 612,024 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $134,737,000 after buying an additional 44,824 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its stake in Aspen Technology by 38.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,014,000 after acquiring an additional 153,897 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,199,000 after acquiring an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 340,166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,567,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 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.