Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK - Get Free Report) had its price target lifted by research analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $340.00 to $360.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the software company's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' target price would indicate a potential upside of 22.94% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on ADSK. Citigroup raised their price target on Autodesk from $358.00 to $361.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, November 29th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Autodesk from a "sell" rating to a "neutral" rating and lifted their target price for the company from $225.00 to $295.00 in a research note on Tuesday, September 3rd. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their target price on shares of Autodesk from $340.00 to $350.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, November 22nd. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Autodesk from $320.00 to $375.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, November 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised their target price on Autodesk from $287.00 to $308.00 and gave the company a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, November 27th. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fourteen have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autodesk has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $323.95.

Autodesk Stock Down 3.3 %

ADSK traded down $9.99 on Wednesday, reaching $292.83. 1,844,641 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,587,395. The company has a market cap of $62.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.10, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 1.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.76, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $298.39 and its 200-day moving average price is $265.98. Autodesk has a 52-week low of $195.32 and a 52-week high of $326.62.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, November 26th. The software company reported $2.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $2.12 by $0.05. Autodesk had a net margin of 18.30% and a return on equity of 53.87%. The company had revenue of $1.57 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.56 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.33 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 11.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Autodesk will post 5.76 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Stephen W. Hope sold 286 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, September 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $274.84, for a total transaction of $78,604.24. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 4,879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,340,944.36. The trade was a 5.54 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, November 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $305.06, for a total value of $167,783.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 30,249 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,227,759.94. The trade was a 1.79 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 1,386 shares of company stock valued at $403,308. Insiders own 0.14% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Autodesk

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in Autodesk by 36.5% during the third quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,448,968 shares of the software company's stock worth $413,405,000 after purchasing an additional 387,309 shares during the period. Synovus Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 3.4% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 12,785 shares of the software company's stock worth $3,522,000 after buying an additional 421 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Autodesk by 245.4% in the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 77,008 shares of the software company's stock worth $21,214,000 after buying an additional 54,712 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Autodesk during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,751,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Autodesk in the 3rd quarter valued at $3,923,000. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.