Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the recipient of a significant increase in short interest in September. As of September 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,470,000 shares, an increase of 8.9% from the August 31st total of 1,350,000 shares. Approximately 5.5% of the company’s stock are sold short. Based on an average trading volume of 215,500 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 6.8 days.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Piper Sandler raised their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $200.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 18th. Loop Capital raised their price target on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Bank of America lifted their price target on Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.40.

Insider Activity at Aspen Technology

In other Aspen Technology news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total value of $219,100.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,871,114. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Aspen Technology

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of AZPN. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 38.5% during the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,014,000 after purchasing an additional 153,897 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $31,630,000. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 26.5% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,199,000 after acquiring an additional 109,783 shares during the period. Clean Energy Transition LLP acquired a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the 1st quarter worth approximately $22,110,000. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Aspen Technology by 52.9% during the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 293,778 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $62,657,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 0.6 %

Shares of Aspen Technology stock traded up $1.41 during trading on Friday, reaching $237.22. 148,930 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 211,281. Aspen Technology has a twelve month low of $162.26 and a twelve month high of $240.82. The firm has a market capitalization of $15.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -539.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.75. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $214.45 and a 200-day moving average price of $207.28.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, August 6th. The technology company reported $2.37 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.88 by $0.49. The business had revenue of $342.91 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $319.10 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.96% and a negative net margin of 0.87%. The firm’s revenue was up 6.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.87 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology will post 6.53 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Aspen Technology

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.