Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five brokerages that are covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of research firms have recently commented on SLP. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Thursday, September 12th. 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. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “market perform” rating for the company. Finally, KeyCorp initiated coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock.

Insider Activity at Simulations Plus

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total value of $934,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,540,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165,393,430.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total transaction of $934,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,540,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $165,393,430.47. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $345,683.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 60,750 shares of company stock worth $2,467,390 over the last three months. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in SLP. EntryPoint Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the 1st quarter worth approximately $57,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new position in shares of Simulations Plus in the first quarter worth $70,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the second quarter valued at $206,000. Arizona State Retirement System acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the second quarter valued at $218,000. Finally, Connecticut Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Simulations Plus during the 1st quarter worth about $204,000. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

Simulations Plus stock opened at $32.05 on Tuesday. The stock has a market cap of $641.26 million, a PE ratio of 66.77 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $37.52 and its two-hundred day moving average is $42.90. Simulations Plus has a 1-year low of $31.75 and a 1-year high of $51.22.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 14.36%. The firm had revenue of $18.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.92 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts expect that Simulations Plus will post 0.51 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Stockholders of record on Monday, July 29th were paid a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.75%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, July 29th. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.00%.

Simulations Plus Company Profile

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.