Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Short Interest Down 8.2% in July

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the recipient of a large decrease in short interest in the month of July. As of July 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,340,000 shares, a decrease of 8.2% from the June 30th total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 5.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 211,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 6.3 days.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of AZPN traded down $1.96 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $187.95. The company had a trading volume of 171,534 shares, compared to its average volume of 202,200. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $199.92 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.94. The company has a market capitalization of $11.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -427.16, a PEG ratio of 2.34 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology has a 12-month low of $162.26 and a 12-month high of $224.77.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.39. The business had revenue of $278.11 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $251.65 million. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 2.76%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 5.52 earnings per share for the current year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

AZPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. Berenberg Bank upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Friday, May 17th. William Blair upgraded shares of Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird restated an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price objective on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler cut their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $219.50.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2,600.0% during the 2nd quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 135 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $29,000 after acquiring an additional 130 shares in the last quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 313.2% in the second quarter. Crewe Advisors LLC now owns 157 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 119 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 65.7% in the second quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. of Nevada Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the second quarter worth approximately $37,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 561.8% in the first quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

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.