Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Rating Lowered to “Hold” at Baird R W

Baird R W downgraded shares of Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) from a strong-buy rating to a hold rating in a research note published on Monday morning,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research firms have also commented on AZPN. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Saturday. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Berenberg Bank downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $265.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Monday. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $261.00.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

AZPN opened at $264.00 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $16.70 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -455.17, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $251.28 and its 200-day simple moving average is $233.27. Aspen Technology has a twelve month low of $171.25 and a twelve month high of $264.43.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate 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 firm had revenue of $215.90 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.96 earnings per share. Aspen Technology’s quarterly revenue was down 13.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position 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 valued at $86,799,000 after acquiring an additional 171,351 shares during the last quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. increased its holdings in Aspen Technology by 31.0% in the third quarter. Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. now owns 166,352 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $39,728,000 after purchasing an additional 39,396 shares during the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Aspen Technology by 6.6% in the third quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 167,832 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,082,000 after buying an additional 10,327 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. boosted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 15.9% during the third quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 23,240 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $5,550,000 after buying an additional 3,186 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew 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 worth $139,156,000 after buying an additional 28,820 shares during the period. 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.