Wells Fargo & Company Initiates Coverage on Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) in a research report released on Wednesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm issued an overweight rating and a $340.00 price target on the software company’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised their price target on shares of Autodesk from $254.00 to $287.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. DA Davidson began coverage on Autodesk in a research note on Friday, September 27th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $260.00 target price for the company. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $320.00 price target on shares of Autodesk in a report on Monday, September 30th. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Autodesk from $275.00 to $310.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research 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 stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $292.95.

Autodesk Trading Up 0.8 %

NASDAQ ADSK opened at $292.99 on Wednesday. Autodesk has a one year low of $192.01 and a one year high of $294.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $63.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.52 and a beta of 1.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $264.10 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $242.09.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.12 earnings per share. Autodesk’s revenue was up 11.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Autodesk will post 5.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Autodesk news, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the director now directly owns 31,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,916,693.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,344 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 17,099 shares in the company, valued at $4,616,730. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction on Thursday, August 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $248.18, for a total value of $136,499.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 31,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,916,693.82. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 19,280 shares of company stock worth $5,200,929 in the last 90 days. 0.14% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Autodesk by 31.9% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 538,592 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $131,136,000 after purchasing an additional 130,341 shares during the last quarter. Kapitalo Investimentos Ltda acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the 4th quarter valued at about $74,000. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 30.7% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,999 shares of the software company’s stock worth $521,000 after acquiring an additional 470 shares during the period. Rise Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Autodesk by 271.1% in the first quarter. Rise Advisors LLC now owns 167 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $43,000 after purchasing an additional 122 shares during the period. Finally, Welch Group LLC acquired a new position in Autodesk during the first quarter worth approximately $209,000. 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.