Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Short Interest Up 32.2% in February

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN - Get Free Report) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,600,000 shares, a growth of 32.2% from the January 31st total of 1,210,000 shares. Approximately 6.0% of the shares of the company are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 579,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.8 days.

Aspen Technology Trading Up 0.1 %

AZPN traded up $0.24 on Friday, hitting $265.25. 673,308 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 631,907. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $259.62 and its 200-day simple moving average is $246.24. The firm has a market cap of $16.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 3,316.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology has a one year low of $171.25 and a one year high of $277.37.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a return on equity of 3.17% and a net margin of 0.54%. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology will post 6.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have issued reports on AZPN shares. Baird R W cut Aspen Technology from a "strong-buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital raised Aspen Technology from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and raised their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research report on Monday, February 10th. Robert W. Baird reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $265.00 target price (down from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Piper Sandler raised their price objective on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com assumed coverage on Aspen Technology in a research note on Thursday. They issued a "hold" rating on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $272.00.

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Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. SBI Securities Co. Ltd. bought a new stake in Aspen Technology during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Atala Financial Inc bought a new stake in Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter worth approximately $44,000. Bessemer Group Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 29.7% in the 4th quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 192 shares of the technology company's stock worth $48,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 965.0% in the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 213 shares of the technology company's stock worth $53,000 after acquiring an additional 193 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Blue Trust Inc. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 5,700.0% in the 4th quarter. Blue Trust Inc. now owns 232 shares of the technology company's stock worth $58,000 after acquiring an additional 228 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 45.66% of the company's stock.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.