Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Earns Hold Rating from Analysts at StockNews.com

StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) in a research note released on Saturday morning. The firm issued a hold rating on the technology company’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on AZPN. Baird R W downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price objective (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Loop Capital upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Aspen Technology has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of AZPN stock opened at $264.33 on Friday. Aspen Technology has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $262.67 and a 200 day moving average of $249.57. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 632,545 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 351.6% during the 4th quarter. Deutsche Bank AG now owns 509,410 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $127,164,000 after acquiring an additional 396,607 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $70,813,000. Finally, Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $66,680,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.