Craig Hallum Reaffirms “Buy” Rating for Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP)

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Craig Hallum in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $56.00 price target on the technology company’s stock. Craig Hallum’s target price suggests a potential upside of 40.39% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities analysts have also recently commented on the stock. William Blair began coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Friday, June 28th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th.

Simulations Plus Trading Down 14.9 %

Simulations Plus stock traded down $6.97 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $39.89. The company had a trading volume of 340,421 shares, compared to its average volume of 104,821. Simulations Plus has a 1-year low of $32.69 and a 1-year high of $52.69. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $47.81 and its 200-day simple moving average is $44.18. The stock has a market cap of $797.40 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.26 and a beta of 0.72.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 16.22% and a return on equity of 7.95%. The company had revenue of $18.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Simulations Plus will post 0.55 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simulations Plus

In other news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 3,250 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $48.31, for a total transaction of $157,007.50. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,759 shares in the company, valued at $423,147.29. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total transaction of $36,990.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $345,683.88. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 3,250 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 7th. The shares were 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 approximately $423,147.29. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 44,500 shares of company stock worth $2,072,198. 20.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simulations Plus

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Trexquant Investment LP acquired a new position in Simulations Plus during the third quarter worth approximately $1,094,000. Kennedy Capital Management LLC increased its position in Simulations Plus by 21.8% during the third quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 185,445 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,733,000 after purchasing an additional 33,177 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Simulations Plus by 0.4% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 1,118,878 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,657,000 after purchasing an additional 5,009 shares during the last quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC increased its position in Simulations Plus by 145.0% during the fourth quarter. Kopion Asset Management LLC now owns 122,709 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,491,000 after purchasing an additional 72,622 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Simulations Plus during the fourth quarter worth approximately $9,190,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

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.