Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Short Interest Update

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a large drop in short interest during the month of November. As of November 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,180,000 shares, a drop of 12.6% from the October 31st total of 1,350,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 316,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 3.7 days. Currently, 4.4% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Aspen Technology Trading Down 0.7 %

Shares of Aspen Technology stock opened at $248.34 on Tuesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $240.69 and a 200-day moving average of $219.38. Aspen Technology has a 1-year low of $171.25 and a 1-year high of $254.04. The company has a market cap of $15.71 billion, a PE ratio of -428.17, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. The firm 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 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZPN. Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 29,120 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,912,000 after purchasing an additional 778 shares in the last quarter. Synovus Financial Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 12.6% during the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,487 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,982,000 after buying an additional 1,396 shares in the last quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 9.2% during the 3rd quarter. Sanctuary Advisors LLC now owns 12,606 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,162,000 after buying an additional 1,065 shares during the period. Anchor Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $77,000. Finally, SkyView Investment Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.5% in the 3rd quarter. SkyView Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,188 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $761,000 after acquiring an additional 77 shares in the last quarter. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms recently issued reports on AZPN. StockNews.com initiated coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Saturday. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Bank of America boosted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Robert W. Baird raised their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, November 5th. Finally, Loop Capital increased their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Aspen Technology presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $253.00.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.