Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Large Drop in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a large decline in short interest in November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,020,000 shares, a decline of 13.6% from the November 15th total of 1,180,000 shares. Approximately 3.8% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 345,900 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.9 days.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,090,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,459,000 after acquiring an additional 65,143 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. increased its position in Aspen Technology by 5.2% during 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 last quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $110,014,000 after purchasing an additional 153,897 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 26.5% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $104,199,000 after purchasing an additional 109,783 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 3.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 340,166 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $67,567,000 after buying an additional 12,500 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ:AZPN opened at $248.80 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $15.74 billion, a PE ratio of -428.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $243.53 and a 200-day simple moving average of $221.36. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $171.25 and a 1-year high of $254.44.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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 negative net margin of 3.26% and a positive return on equity of 2.81%. The business had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $265.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com began coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Bank of America lifted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird increased their target price on Aspen Technology from $250.00 to $275.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Berenberg Bank downgraded Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Thursday, November 7th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $258.00.

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.