Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Shares Purchased by Principal Financial Group Inc.

Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) by 2.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 87,273 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 2,226 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc.’s holdings in Simulations Plus were worth $2,794,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC raised its position in Simulations Plus by 1,100.0% in the third quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 1,100 shares during the period. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the third quarter worth about $59,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the second quarter worth about $206,000. Finally, Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the second quarter valued at about $218,000. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

NASDAQ SLP opened at $28.73 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $577.04 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.63 and a beta of 0.80. Simulations Plus, Inc. has a 12 month low of $27.07 and a 12 month high of $51.22. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $29.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $34.47.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $18.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.73 million. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.18 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.1 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.76, for a total transaction of $635,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,442,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $109,336,467.84. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 19.40% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on SLP shares. StockNews.com cut Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. BTIG Research cut their price objective on shares of Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, Stephens began coverage on Simulations Plus in a research note on Friday, November 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.40.

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.