Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy at StockNews.com

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) was upgraded by equities researchers at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Other equities analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $180.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “sell” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $320.00 price target on shares of Autodesk in a report on Monday, April 1st. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $265.00 to $290.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $232.00 to $293.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $276.00 to $307.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 26th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have assigned a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $272.44.

Autodesk Stock Up 2.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ ADSK opened at $216.50 on Thursday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $251.86 and its 200-day moving average price is $234.97. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.43, a P/E/G ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 1.43. Autodesk has a 12-month low of $188.38 and a 12-month high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 29th. The software company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Autodesk had a net margin of 16.48% and a return on equity of 75.01%. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Autodesk will post 5.38 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Autodesk

In other news, CEO Andrew Anagnost sold 21,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.99, for a total value of $5,473,569.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,354,327.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other news, CEO Andrew Anagnost sold 21,053 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $259.99, for a total value of $5,473,569.47. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,213 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $27,354,327.87. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $264.74, for a total transaction of $145,607.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 38,766 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,262,910.84. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 38,666 shares of company stock valued at $10,090,055. Company insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autodesk

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. purchased a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Garner Asset Management Corp purchased a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Bfsg LLC purchased a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its position in Autodesk by 76.9% during the fourth quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 115 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 50 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 90.24% of the company’s stock.

Autodesk Company Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.