Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) Short Interest Down 6.4% in September

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK) was the target of a large decrease in short interest in the month of September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 3,340,000 shares, a decrease of 6.4% from the August 31st total of 3,570,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 1,460,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.3 days. Currently, 1.6% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Insider Activity at Autodesk

In other news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 19,693 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, July 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $4,923,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 34,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,610,750. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. In related news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 19,693 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, July 11th. The stock was sold at an average price of $250.00, for a total transaction of $4,923,250.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 34,443 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,610,750. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $248.18, for a total value of $136,499.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 31,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,916,693.82. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 38,973 shares of company stock worth $10,106,590. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ADSK. Meyer Handelman Co. acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk in the first quarter valued at approximately $903,000. TD Asset Management Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 13.0% during the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 434,407 shares of the software company’s stock worth $113,128,000 after purchasing an additional 50,027 shares during the period. Caxton Associates LP grew its stake in shares of Autodesk by 1,353.8% in the fourth quarter. Caxton Associates LP now owns 97,026 shares of the software company’s stock worth $23,624,000 after purchasing an additional 90,352 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia grew its stake in shares of Autodesk by 155.7% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia now owns 79,803 shares of the software company’s stock worth $19,428,000 after purchasing an additional 48,597 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. increased its holdings in Autodesk by 10.9% in the first quarter. Leith Wheeler Investment Counsel Ltd. now owns 50,291 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $13,097,000 after purchasing an additional 4,932 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.24% of the company’s stock.

Autodesk Trading Up 1.3 %

ADSK opened at $275.48 on Tuesday. The company has a market cap of $59.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 59.63, a PEG ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 1.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80. The company’s 50 day moving average is $253.04 and its 200-day moving average is $240.06. Autodesk has a 1-year low of $192.01 and a 1-year high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.00 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. Autodesk had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 59.41%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.12 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Autodesk will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on the stock. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $290.00 to $295.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, August 30th. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Autodesk from $316.00 to $325.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Hsbc Global Res raised Autodesk to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. HSBC upgraded Autodesk from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $242.00 to $299.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded Autodesk from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and upped their target price for the company from $225.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $290.47.

About Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.