Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Lifted to Buy at HSBC

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) was upgraded by equities researchers at HSBC from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm currently has a $299.00 price objective on the software company’s stock, up from their prior price objective of $242.00. HSBC’s price target points to a potential upside of 15.71% from the stock’s previous close.

ADSK has been the topic of several other research reports. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Autodesk from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday. Berenberg Bank boosted their price target on Autodesk from $286.00 to $299.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Autodesk from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Autodesk from $296.00 to $289.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 29th. Finally, KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and set a $305.00 price objective on shares of Autodesk in a report on Monday, August 26th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $291.67.

Autodesk Stock Performance

Shares of ADSK stock opened at $258.40 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $55.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.45 and a beta of 1.48. Autodesk has a one year low of $192.01 and a one year high of $279.53. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $246.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $239.07.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.15. Autodesk had a return on equity of 64.61% and a net margin of 18.21%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.48 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.12 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Autodesk will post 5.55 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $253.33, for a total transaction of $139,331.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,016 shares in the company, valued at $7,857,283.28. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In other news, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $226.21, for a total value of $248,831.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 32,116 shares in the company, valued at $7,264,960.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction on Monday, July 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $253.33, for a total value of $139,331.50. Following the transaction, the director now owns 31,016 shares in the company, valued at $7,857,283.28. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 39,931 shares of company stock worth $9,537,781. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD lifted its holdings in Autodesk by 263.6% in the 1st quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,294,746 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,639,279,000 after acquiring an additional 4,563,668 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $619,404,000. Ninety One UK Ltd lifted its stake in Autodesk by 28.0% during the second quarter. Ninety One UK Ltd now owns 5,071,950 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,255,054,000 after purchasing an additional 1,108,973 shares during the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp boosted its holdings in Autodesk by 100.9% during the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 1,642,973 shares of the software company’s stock worth $406,554,000 after buying an additional 825,165 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in Autodesk by 366.5% in the second quarter. Point72 Asset Management L.P. now owns 843,040 shares of the software company’s stock worth $208,610,000 after buying an additional 662,339 shares during the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autodesk Company Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.