Stephens Investment Management Group LLC Cuts Holdings in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Stephens Investment Management Group LLC decreased its position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 1.2% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The institutional investor owned 248,287 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 2,970 shares during the period. Stephens Investment Management Group LLC’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $61,980,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,318,000 after acquiring an additional 632,545 shares during the last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $139,156,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after purchasing an additional 171,351 shares during the period. Raymond James & Associates grew its position in Aspen Technology by 5.9% during the third quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 281,961 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,338,000 after buying an additional 15,744 shares during the period. Finally, American Capital Management Inc. raised its position in Aspen Technology by 116.9% in the third quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $46,635,000 after acquiring an additional 105,254 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 3.5 %

Aspen Technology stock opened at $274.80 on Friday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $253.88 and a 200 day simple moving average of $236.64. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52 week low of $171.25 and a 52 week high of $277.37. The stock has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,435.43, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Baird R W cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler lifted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Sunday, February 2nd. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $260.00 to $265.00 in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Berenberg Bank lowered shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $262.00.

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.