Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Hold” from Brokerages

Shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) have been given a consensus rating of “Hold” by the seven ratings firms that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $272.00.

Several analysts have weighed in on AZPN shares. Loop Capital upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. StockNews.com started coverage on Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price objective (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler upped their target price on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Baird R W downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, January 27th.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $264.33 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average of $261.08 and a 200 day moving average of $248.12. The company has a market capitalization of $16.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,304.54, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $171.25 and a 1-year high of $277.37.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,831,209 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $706,755,000 after purchasing an additional 36,497 shares during the period. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% in the fourth quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares during the period. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% in the fourth quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 623,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $155,721,000 after purchasing an additional 12,456 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 5.2% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 582,682 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $139,156,000 after purchasing an additional 28,820 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.