Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Short Interest Up 24.1% in July

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) was the target of a significant increase in short interest in July. As of July 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, an increase of 24.1% from the July 15th total of 1,080,000 shares. Currently, 8.2% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 131,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 10.2 days.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

NASDAQ SLP traded up $0.03 on Friday, hitting $36.51. 72,455 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 167,723. Simulations Plus has a twelve month low of $32.69 and a twelve month high of $51.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $730.57 million, a P/E ratio of 76.06 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $42.05 and its 200-day moving average price is $43.67.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The business had revenue of $18.54 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.92 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Simulations Plus will post 0.52 EPS for the current year.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were issued a dividend of $0.06 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio is 50.00%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on SLP. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Friday, June 28th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating for the company. KeyCorp began coverage on Simulations Plus in a report on Monday, July 29th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price target on the stock. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $56.00 price objective on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Simulations Plus currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $56.00.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total transaction of $792,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,521,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $139,560,690.96. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total transaction of $792,600.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,521,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $139,560,690.96. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total transaction of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders sold 40,750 shares of company stock worth $1,763,790. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Simulations Plus by 1.1% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,135,105 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,710,000 after buying an additional 12,636 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 931,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,668,000 after acquiring an additional 12,505 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its position in Simulations Plus by 10.1% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 414,005 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 37,992 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its stake in Simulations Plus by 36.5% in the first quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 381,693 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,707,000 after purchasing an additional 102,135 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in Simulations Plus by 3.2% in the 1st quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 229,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 7,077 shares during the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.