American Century Companies Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

American Century Companies Inc. raised its stake in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 872.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 48,506 shares of the technology company’s stock after buying an additional 43,519 shares during the quarter. American Century Companies Inc. owned about 0.07% of Aspen Technology worth $11,102,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology in the 3rd quarter worth about $662,551,000. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 103,662.9% in the fourth quarter. Moneta Group Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,567,858 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $322,038,000 after buying an additional 1,566,347 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $77,022,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 278.9% during the first quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 308,855 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $23,493,000 after buying an additional 227,335 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH grew its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 1,331.8% during the first quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 170,315 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,165,000 after buying an additional 158,420 shares during the last quarter. 43.94% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Aspen Technology stock opened at $194.16 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $12.50 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -116.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.11 and a beta of 0.93. The company’s 50 day moving average is $181.57 and its 200 day moving average is $191.12. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a twelve month low of $161.32 and a twelve month high of $263.59.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 1st. The technology company reported $1.87 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by ($0.07). Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 10.32% and a positive return on equity of 2.32%. The company had revenue of $320.64 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $324.78 million. Sell-side analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Aspen Technology news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 3,114 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.56, for a total value of $512,439.84. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 5,840 shares in the company, valued at $961,030.40. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. KeyCorp reiterated a “sector weight” rating on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Wednesday, July 26th. Piper Sandler increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. StockNews.com assumed coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Thursday, August 17th. They set a “hold” rating on the stock. Loop Capital increased their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $170.00 to $180.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Finally, Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $184.00 to $194.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 2nd. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $198.80.

Aspen Technology Profile

Aspen Technology, Inc provides enterprise asset performance management, asset performance monitoring, and asset optimization solutions worldwide. The company's solutions address complex environments where it is critical to optimize the asset design, operation, and maintenance lifecycle. It offers artificial intelligence of things, aspen hybrid models, asset performance management, OSI digital grid management, and performance engineering; production optimization for commodity polymers, olefins, refining, and specialty chemicals; subsurface science and engineering; and value chain optimization for energy and polymers and specialty chemicals solutions.