Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Shares Gap Up Following Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)’s share price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $177.84, but opened at $208.47. Aspen Technology shares last traded at $216.00, with a volume of 38,076 shares.

The technology company reported $2.37 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. The company had revenue of $342.91 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $319.10 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.76% and a negative net margin of 2.46%. Aspen Technology’s quarterly revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.87 EPS.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

AZPN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Berenberg Bank raised Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $185.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Friday, May 17th. Piper Sandler reduced their price objective on Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Finally, William Blair raised Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $219.50.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Prudential PLC boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 24.7% during the 2nd quarter. Prudential PLC now owns 6,859 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,362,000 after purchasing an additional 1,359 shares during the last quarter. Quest Partners LLC boosted its stake in Aspen Technology by 15,800.0% during the 2nd quarter. Quest Partners LLC now owns 954 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $189,000 after purchasing an additional 948 shares during the last quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 2nd quarter valued at $110,000. Otter Creek Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 345.9% in the 2nd quarter. Otter Creek Advisors LLC now owns 15,605 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,100,000 after buying an additional 12,105 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Torray Investment Partners LLC boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 10.5% in the 2nd quarter. Torray Investment Partners LLC now owns 8,262 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,641,000 after buying an additional 782 shares during the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 20.6 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $13.58 billion, a PE ratio of -404.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.73. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $195.98 and a 200-day moving average price of $199.26.

About Aspen Technology

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.