Morgan Stanley Reiterates Overweight Rating for Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK)‘s stock had its “overweight” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Morgan Stanley in a research note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. They presently have a $370.00 price target on the software company’s stock, up from their prior price target of $330.00. Morgan Stanley’s target price suggests a potential upside of 25.28% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently issued reports on ADSK. UBS Group boosted their target price on Autodesk from $350.00 to $370.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 28th. Barclays dropped their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $365.00 to $325.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, April 11th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $350.00 target price (up previously from $300.00) on shares of Autodesk in a research note on Friday. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $324.00 to $333.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Mizuho cut their price objective on Autodesk from $400.00 to $350.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Autodesk currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $337.18.

Autodesk Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of ADSK opened at $295.35 on Friday. Autodesk has a fifty-two week low of $195.32 and a fifty-two week high of $326.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $271.64 and its two-hundred day moving average is $286.45. The firm has a market cap of $63.19 billion, a PE ratio of 58.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 1.47. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Autodesk news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 2,452 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, March 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $267.29, for a total transaction of $655,395.08. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now owns 3,003 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $802,671.87. The trade was a 44.95% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director John T. Cahill bought 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, March 21st. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $267.10 per share, for a total transaction of $534,200.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 2,000 shares in the company, valued at approximately $534,200. The trade was a ∞ increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase can be found here. 0.15% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 196.2% during the 4th quarter. China Universal Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 8,099 shares of the software company’s stock worth $2,394,000 after purchasing an additional 5,365 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA acquired a new stake in Autodesk during the fourth quarter worth $13,906,000. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. increased its holdings in Autodesk by 25.5% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 300,135 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $88,711,000 after buying an additional 60,963 shares during the period. GAM Holding AG bought a new stake in Autodesk in the 4th quarter valued at $3,453,000. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Autodesk by 8.3% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 128,398 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $38,205,000 after buying an additional 9,877 shares in the last quarter. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Autodesk

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.