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

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a significant increase in short interest during the month of December. As of December 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,220,000 shares, an increase of 19.6% from the November 30th total of 1,020,000 shares. Currently, 4.6% of the shares of the stock are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 395,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 3.1 days.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently weighed in on AZPN shares. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on Aspen Technology in a report on Tuesday, December 24th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Berenberg Bank cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Loop Capital upped their target price on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Finally, Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $258.00.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Tortoise Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 77.8% in the 2nd quarter. Tortoise Investment Management LLC now owns 128 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. Quent Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 364.9% during the third quarter. Quent Capital LLC now owns 172 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt purchased a new stake in Aspen Technology in the third quarter worth $48,000. Anchor Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Aspen Technology in the third quarter worth $77,000. Finally, Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its position in Aspen Technology by 71.6% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 386 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $77,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Aspen Technology stock traded up $0.37 on Tuesday, hitting $249.32. The stock had a trading volume of 219,761 shares, compared to its average volume of 259,842. Aspen Technology has a one year low of $171.25 and a one year high of $254.44. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $246.45 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $224.79. The stock has a market cap of $15.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -429.86, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.76.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). The firm had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $265.04 million. Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.81% and a negative net margin of 3.26%. Aspen Technology’s revenue was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.96 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 6.68 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.