Robert W. Baird Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Stock

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) had its price target upped by Robert W. Baird from $305.00 to $330.00 in a report issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. Robert W. Baird currently has an outperform rating on the software company’s stock.

ADSK has been the topic of a number of other reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $320.00 target price on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Monday, September 30th. HSBC raised shares of Autodesk from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $242.00 to $299.00 in a report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $275.00 to $300.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Bank of America upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $290.00 to $313.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Autodesk has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $302.38.

Autodesk Price Performance

Autodesk stock opened at $315.22 on Monday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $285.29 and its two-hundred day moving average is $253.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. Autodesk has a 12-month low of $195.32 and a 12-month high of $317.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $67.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 64.46, a P/E/G ratio of 3.90 and a beta of 1.47.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Autodesk

In other news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,344 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $4,682,880.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 17,099 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,616,730. This represents a 50.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $265.50, for a total value of $146,025.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 31,349 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,323,159.50. This represents a 1.72 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 19,280 shares of company stock worth $5,232,213 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Marshall Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Autodesk by 0.8% during the third quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,491 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,237,000 after acquiring an additional 35 shares in the last quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Autodesk by 0.8% in the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,577 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after buying an additional 42 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Autodesk by 1.1% in the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,875 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $959,000 after buying an additional 44 shares in the last quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Autodesk by 28.9% in the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the software company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. increased its position in Autodesk by 5.1% in the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 920 shares of the software company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.