Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sets New 1-Year High – Here’s Why

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday . The company traded as high as $241.35 and last traded at $240.82, with a volume of 49943 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $239.92.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on Aspen Technology from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital lifted their price target on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Robert W. Baird lifted their price target on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $248.40.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

The company has a market cap of $14.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -1,505.19, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $232.00 and a 200 day moving average price of $212.07.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 0.87%. The business had revenue of $342.91 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.10 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.87 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Aspen Technology

In other news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of Aspen Technology stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total transaction of $219,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,871,114. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. State of Michigan Retirement System boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.3% during the first quarter. State of Michigan Retirement System now owns 8,807 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,878,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Norden Group LLC grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 53.1% during the first quarter. Norden Group LLC now owns 2,375 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $507,000 after buying an additional 824 shares in the last quarter. Hartline Investment Corp bought a new stake in Aspen Technology during the first quarter worth $262,000. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 1.1% during the first quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 32,627 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $6,959,000 after buying an additional 340 shares in the last quarter. Finally, BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 276.5% in the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 674 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $144,000 after purchasing an additional 495 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

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.