StockNews.com Lowers Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) to Buy

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) was downgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

ADSK has been the topic of a number of other research reports. TheStreet raised Autodesk from a “c+” rating to a “b-” rating in a report on Friday, December 29th. KeyCorp increased their price objective on Autodesk from $275.00 to $320.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho increased their price objective on Autodesk from $220.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Monday, April 1st. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Autodesk from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and eleven have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Autodesk presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $272.44.

Autodesk Trading Up 0.7 %

ADSK stock traded up $1.53 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $217.93. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,277,774 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,470,440. The company has a market cap of $46.62 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 1.43. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $247.53 and its 200 day moving average price is $235.31. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. Autodesk has a 12 month low of $188.38 and a 12 month high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The software company reported $2.09 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Autodesk had a return on equity of 75.01% and a net margin of 16.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts predict that Autodesk will post 5.38 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 1,757 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.47, for a total transaction of $457,645.79. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,450 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $898,621.50. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 1,757 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $260.47, for a total value of $457,645.79. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,450 shares in the company, valued at approximately $898,621.50. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $264.74, for a total transaction of $145,607.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 38,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,262,910.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 36,166 shares of company stock valued at $9,465,055. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth $28,000. Private Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth $31,000. Finally, First United Bank & Trust acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 90.24% of the company’s stock.

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.