Stifel Nicolaus Boosts Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Price Target to $340.00

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) had its target price boosted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $320.00 to $340.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the software company’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 13.83% from the stock’s previous close.

ADSK has been the topic of several other research reports. HSBC raised shares of Autodesk from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the company from $242.00 to $299.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Bank of America raised their price objective on Autodesk from $260.00 to $285.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 30th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $305.00 price objective on shares of Autodesk in a report on Monday, August 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Autodesk from a “sell” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $225.00 to $295.00 in a research report on Tuesday, September 3rd. Finally, Citigroup set a $325.00 target price on Autodesk and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 18th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $296.20.

Autodesk Price Performance

NASDAQ:ADSK traded down $7.96 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $298.69. 501,640 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,571,372. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $280.34 and its 200-day moving average is $250.66. Autodesk has a twelve month low of $195.32 and a twelve month high of $315.73. The firm has a market cap of $64.22 billion, a PE ratio of 61.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.80.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 29th. The software company reported $2.15 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.00 by $0.15. Autodesk had a net margin of 18.21% and a return on equity of 59.41%. The firm had revenue of $1.51 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.48 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.12 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Autodesk will post 5.73 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, COO Steven M. Blum sold 17,344 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $270.00, for a total value of $4,682,880.00. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 17,099 shares in the company, valued at $4,616,730. This represents a 50.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $285.31, for a total value of $156,920.50. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 30,799 shares in the company, valued at $8,787,262.69. This trade represents a 1.75 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 18,730 shares of company stock valued at $5,064,430 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Autodesk

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Marshall Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Autodesk by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Marshall Financial Group LLC now owns 4,491 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,237,000 after buying an additional 35 shares during the period. Avitas Wealth Management LLC grew its holdings in Autodesk by 0.8% in the third quarter. Avitas Wealth Management LLC now owns 5,577 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,536,000 after purchasing an additional 42 shares during the period. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Autodesk by 1.1% in the second quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,875 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $959,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Meeder Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Autodesk by 28.9% during the third quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 196 shares of the software company’s stock worth $54,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. raised its stake in Autodesk by 5.1% during the second quarter. Johnson Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 920 shares of the software company’s stock worth $228,000 after purchasing an additional 45 shares during the period. 90.24% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Autodesk Company Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.