Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

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

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

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the company’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, July 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $46.71, for a total transaction of $934,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,540,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $165,393,430.47. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total transaction of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 7,009 shares in the company, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 60,750 shares of company stock worth $2,467,390 in the last three months. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Simulations Plus by 7.7% in the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 6,391 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $311,000 after purchasing an additional 456 shares during the last quarter. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $811,000. Public Sector Pension Investment Board grew its holdings in 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 purchasing an additional 2,122 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Simulations Plus by 10.1% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 414,005 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,128,000 after purchasing an additional 37,992 shares during the period. Finally, Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake 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 period. 78.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

Simulations Plus stock opened at $31.23 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $624.85 million, a PE ratio of 65.06 and a beta of 0.70. The business’s fifty day moving average is $36.83 and its 200 day moving average is $42.60. Simulations Plus has a one year low of $30.95 and a one year high of $51.22.

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, beating 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 firm had revenue of $18.54 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $17.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 14.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Simulations Plus will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

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

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.