Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Receives $56.00 Consensus Price Target from Brokerages

Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) have been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on SLP shares. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, June 13th. Craig Hallum restated a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. KeyCorp started coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Monday, July 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. JMP Securities started coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Tuesday, July 16th. They issued a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Thursday, September 12th.

Simulations Plus Trading Down 0.3 %

SLP opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $623.25 million, a PE ratio of 64.90 and a beta of 0.70. Simulations Plus has a 1-year low of $30.61 and a 1-year high of $51.22. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $36.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $42.51.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.36% and a return on equity of 7.80%. The business had revenue of $18.54 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.92 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. Simulations Plus’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Simulations Plus will post 0.51 EPS for the current year.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simulations Plus

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,501,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,186,006.56. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,501,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,186,006.56. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 7,009 shares in the company, valued at $345,683.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 60,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,467,390. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLP. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its holdings in Simulations Plus by 7.7% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $311,000 after acquiring an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $811,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board boosted its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Public Sector Pension Investment Board now owns 35,227 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,713,000 after acquiring an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP lifted its position in Simulations Plus by 10.1% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 414,005 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,128,000 after buying an additional 37,992 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Simulations Plus by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 54,813 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,665,000 after buying an additional 784 shares during the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.