Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Trading 3.9% Higher - Still a Buy?

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report)'s share price shot up 3.9% on Monday . The company traded as high as $34.40 and last traded at $33.97. 284,631 shares changed hands during trading, an increase of 46% from the average session volume of 194,371 shares. The stock had previously closed at $32.69.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on SLP shares. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. StockNews.com cut Simulations Plus from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a report on Monday, April 14th. Finally, KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Simulations Plus from $32.00 to $40.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $50.00.

Simulations Plus Trading Down 0.3 %

The stock has a market capitalization of $719.75 million, a P/E ratio of 89.82 and a beta of 1.13. The firm's fifty day moving average is $28.44 and its 200-day moving average is $30.22.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.25 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $22.43 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $21.93 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 10.97%. The business's revenue was up 22.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $0.20 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.09 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.91, for a total transaction of $678,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,402,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $115,381,623.44. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 19.40% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLP. Jones Financial Companies Lllp raised its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 53.6% during the fourth quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 1,223 shares of the technology company's stock worth $34,000 after buying an additional 427 shares during the last quarter. Johnson Financial Group Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the fourth quarter valued at about $39,000. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its position in Simulations Plus by 33.8% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 1,485 shares of the technology company's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 375 shares during the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC grew its position in Simulations Plus by 42.2% in the fourth quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 2,575 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $72,000 after purchasing an additional 764 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC increased its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 502.9% in the fourth quarter. AlphaQuest LLC now owns 2,689 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $75,000 after acquiring an additional 2,243 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.08% of the company's stock.

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.