ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) Short Interest Up 19.2% in March

ANSYS, Inc. (NASDAQ:ANSS) saw a significant growth in short interest during the month of March. As of March 31st, there was short interest totalling 1,490,000 shares, a growth of 19.2% from the March 15th total of 1,250,000 shares. Currently, 1.7% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 738,000 shares, the short-interest ratio is presently 2.0 days.

ANSYS Stock Down 1.7 %

Shares of NASDAQ ANSS opened at $334.20 on Friday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $338.55 and its 200-day simple moving average is $319.34. ANSYS has a 52-week low of $258.01 and a 52-week high of $364.31. The firm has a market cap of $29.18 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.32, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.37 and a beta of 1.16. The company has a quick ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 2.30 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14.

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 21st. The software maker reported $3.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $3.71 by $0.23. The firm had revenue of $805.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $797.49 million. ANSYS had a net margin of 22.05% and a return on equity of 11.83%. ANSYS’s quarterly revenue was up 15.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $2.61 earnings per share. Equities analysts predict that ANSYS will post 7.34 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

ANSS has been the subject of several recent research reports. StockNews.com initiated coverage on shares of ANSYS in a report on Sunday, April 7th. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of ANSYS in a report on Tuesday, March 5th. Wolfe Research reissued a “peer perform” rating on shares of ANSYS in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Barclays raised their target price on shares of ANSYS from $314.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 22nd. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on shares of ANSYS from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating and one has given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, ANSYS currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $322.75.

Insider Activity at ANSYS

In other ANSYS news, Director Glenda Dorchak sold 150 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 8th. The shares were sold at an average price of $342.08, for a total value of $51,312.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,043,001.92. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.53% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On ANSYS

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of ANSS. LM Advisors LLC acquired a new position in ANSYS during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. CVA Family Office LLC purchased a new position in ANSYS during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. raised its stake in ANSYS by 135.7% during the third quarter. Raleigh Capital Management Inc. now owns 99 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Quest Partners LLC purchased a new position in ANSYS during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, DSM Capital Partners LLC purchased a new position in ANSYS during the fourth quarter worth about $34,000. 92.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

ANSYS Company Profile

ANSYS, Inc develops and markets engineering simulation software and services for engineers, designers, researchers, and students in the United States, Japan, Germany, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers structural analysis product suite that provides simulation tools for product design and optimization; the Ansys Mechanical product, an element analysis software; LS-DYNA solver for multiphysics simulation; and power analysis and optimization software suite.