Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) Raised to Buy at Loop Capital

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) was upgraded by Loop Capital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,Finviz reports. The brokerage currently has a $315.00 price objective on the technology company’s stock, up from their previous price objective of $265.00. Loop Capital’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.63% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Baird R W cut shares of Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Berenberg Bank cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aspen Technology in a report on Monday. They issued a “hold” rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $272.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of Aspen Technology stock opened at $274.80 on Monday. Aspen Technology has a 1 year low of $171.25 and a 1 year high of $277.37. The firm has a market cap of $17.40 billion, a PE ratio of 3,435.43, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $253.88 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $237.32.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vestcor Inc grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 2,238.8% in the 4th quarter. Vestcor Inc now owns 15,670 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,912,000 after buying an additional 15,000 shares during the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 5.1% during the 4th quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 3,386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $845,000 after purchasing an additional 165 shares during the last quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.0% in the 4th quarter. Net Worth Advisory Group now owns 4,197 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,048,000 after purchasing an additional 41 shares in the last quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Aspen Technology by 75.9% during the 4th quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 255 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $64,000 after buying an additional 110 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in Aspen Technology by 218.6% during the 4th quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 17,513 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $4,372,000 after buying an additional 12,017 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

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.