Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the recipient of a large increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the November 30th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the company are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 395,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Tuesday, December 24th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Piper Sandler raised their price target on Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Bank of America upped their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital increased their price objective on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Tortoise Investment Management LLC boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 77.8% during the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 364.9% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 172 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in Aspen Technology in the third quarter valued at $48,000. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 71.6% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter worth about $77,000. 45.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 0.2 %

Shares of NASDAQ AZPN traded up $0.55 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $251.06. 179,702 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 259,564. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $246.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $224.30. Aspen Technology has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve month high of $254.44. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -432.86, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 3.26% and a positive return on equity of 2.81%. The company had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $0.96 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.