Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Still a Buy?

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) shares saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 128,925 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 137,114 shares.The stock last traded at $31.96 and had previously closed at $31.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently weighed in on SLP. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com lowered Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. Stephens began coverage on Simulations Plus in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price objective for the company. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has given a hold rating, five have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $51.40.

Simulations Plus Stock Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $30.81 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $37.95. The company has a market capitalization of $637.22 million, a PE ratio of 64.74 and a beta of 0.71.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.16% and a net margin of 14.15%. The business had revenue of $18.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.73 million. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts predict that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.12 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of Simulations Plus 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 sale, the director now owns 3,501,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $123,186,006.56. This trade represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders have sold a total of 60,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,905,655 in the last three months. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simulations Plus

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its stake in Simulations Plus by 7.6% in the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 10,797 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $342,000 after buying an additional 766 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in Simulations Plus by 390.6% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,473 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $911,000 after buying an additional 22,669 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in Simulations Plus by 4.4% in the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 448,618 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $14,367,000 after buying an additional 18,924 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha raised its position in Simulations Plus by 56.1% in the 3rd quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 9,704 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $311,000 after purchasing an additional 3,488 shares during the last quarter. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Simulations Plus by 4.7% in the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,303 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $20,503,000 after purchasing an additional 28,953 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

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.