Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Analysts

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) has been given an average recommendation of “Hold” by the seven analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $272.00.

A number of brokerages have weighed in on AZPN. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com began coverage on Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Loop Capital upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Atala Financial Inc acquired a new position in Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at about $44,000. Bessemer Group Inc. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 192 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after buying an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 965.0% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 193 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5,700.0% during the fourth quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 232 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $58,000 after buying an additional 228 shares in the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.33 on Monday. Aspen Technology has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The firm has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $261.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $247.69.

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

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.