Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Significant Decline in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) saw a significant drop in short interest in the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a drop of 12.6% from the October 31st total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 316,700 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the stock are sold short.

Analyst Ratings Changes

AZPN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Piper Sandler upped their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Loop Capital lifted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Aspen Technology in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Finally, Bank of America boosted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

AZPN traded up $1.00 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $251.00. 133,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 236,778. Aspen Technology has a one year low of $171.25 and a one year high of $254.04. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $240.40 and its 200 day simple moving average is $219.14. The stock has a market capitalization of $15.88 billion, a P/E ratio of -433.52, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The business had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.96 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the 2nd quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,014,000 after acquiring an additional 153,897 shares during the period. International Assets Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in Aspen Technology in the 3rd quarter worth about $290,880,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 26.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $104,199,000 after buying an additional 109,783 shares during the period. American Capital Management Inc. raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 116.9% in the 3rd quarter. American Capital Management Inc. now owns 195,271 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $46,635,000 after buying an additional 105,254 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Point72 Asset Management L.P. acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $19,928,000. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.