William Blair Begins Coverage on Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP)

William Blair began coverage on shares of Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) in a research note published on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the technology company’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also weighed in on SLP. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Craig Hallum increased their price target on Simulations Plus from $51.00 to $56.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th.

Simulations Plus Trading Up 1.5 %

NASDAQ SLP opened at $48.62 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $47.77 and its two-hundred day moving average is $44.12. Simulations Plus has a 12-month low of $32.69 and a 12-month high of $52.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $971.91 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 91.74 and a beta of 0.75.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 3rd. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $18.31 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.31 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 7.95% and a net margin of 16.22%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Simulations Plus will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, May 6th. Investors of record on Monday, April 29th were given a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.49%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, April 26th. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.28%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, May 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $45.95, for a total value of $919,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,580,857 shares in the company, valued at approximately $164,540,379.15. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 3,250 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $48.31, for a total transaction of $157,007.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $423,147.29. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $45.95, for a total value of $919,000.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,580,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $164,540,379.15. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 23,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,101,008. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simulations Plus

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Connective Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Simulations Plus in the first quarter worth about $364,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Simulations Plus by 3.2% in the first quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 229,439 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $9,441,000 after purchasing an additional 7,077 shares in the last quarter. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new position in Simulations Plus in the first quarter worth about $4,717,000. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new position in Simulations Plus in the first quarter worth about $1,082,000. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Simulations Plus by 5.9% in the first quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 10,048 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $414,000 after purchasing an additional 562 shares in the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.