Van ECK Associates Corp Grows Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 28.5% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 698 shares of the technology company’s stock after acquiring an additional 155 shares during the quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $162,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Empowered Funds LLC lifted its stake in Aspen Technology by 3.7% in the first quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 4,108 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $876,000 after acquiring an additional 146 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Aspen Technology in the 1st quarter worth approximately $211,000. Entropy Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $382,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 46.7% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 17,060 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,639,000 after purchasing an additional 5,427 shares during the period. Finally, Intech Investment Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $469,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZPN opened at $246.05 on Thursday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve month high of $249.91. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $235.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $215.15. The stock has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a P/E ratio of -424.22, a P/E/G ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.39 by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The company’s revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.96 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have weighed in on AZPN shares. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital boosted their target price on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Berenberg Bank cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aspen Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $253.00.

Insider Buying and Selling at Aspen Technology

In other Aspen Technology news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total value of $219,100.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,871,114. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 1.00% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Aspen Technology 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.