Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Upgraded at Stephens

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at Stephens to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. BTIG Research lowered their price target on Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 24th. KeyCorp initiated coverage on Simulations Plus in a report on Monday, July 29th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $47.00 price target for the company. StockNews.com lowered Simulations Plus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. Finally, William Blair restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has assigned a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simulations Plus has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $51.40.

Simulations Plus Stock Performance

SLP stock traded down $0.94 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $28.77. The company's stock had a trading volume of 231,167 shares, compared to its average volume of 134,624. Simulations Plus has a 1 year low of $27.22 and a 1 year high of $51.22. The firm has a market capitalization of $577.33 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.71 and a beta of 0.71. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $31.19 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $38.93.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $18.70 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $19.73 million. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The firm's revenue was up 19.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.18 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Simulations Plus will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Simulations Plus

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total value of $703,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,501,592 shares of the company's stock, valued at $123,186,006.56. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 60,750 shares of company stock valued at $1,905,655 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 20.90% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the 1st quarter valued at about $1,082,000. Silvercrest Asset Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the 1st quarter valued at about $4,717,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the 2nd quarter valued at about $811,000. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus during the 1st quarter valued at about $70,000. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 54.7% during the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 325,567 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $10,425,000 after acquiring an additional 115,122 shares during the period. 78.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.