Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Shares Bought by Pacer Advisors Inc.

Pacer Advisors Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 51.3% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 11,187 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,792 shares during the period. Pacer Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $2,222,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of AZPN. Tortoise Investment Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 2,600.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares during the period. Crewe Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 313.2% during the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 119 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 65.7% during the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total transaction of $219,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,871,114. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 2.1 %

Aspen Technology stock opened at $228.70 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $212.68 and a 200 day moving average price of $206.85. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 12-month low of $162.26 and a 12-month high of $240.82. The stock has a market cap of $14.48 billion, a P/E ratio of -519.77, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.75.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.88 by $0.49. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 0.87% and a positive return on equity of 2.96%. The business had revenue of $342.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.87 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZPN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Piper Sandler increased their price objective on Aspen Technology from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America upped their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.40.

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.