Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Shares Up 5.4% on Strong Earnings

Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report) traded up 5.4% during trading on Friday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $26.03 and last traded at $25.11. 81,885 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 53% from the average session volume of 174,864 shares. The stock had previously closed at $23.82.

The technology company reported $0.31 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.06. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The business had revenue of $22.43 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.93 million. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.20 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on SLP. William Blair reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp upped their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Simulations Plus from a "sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, April 4th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Simulations Plus has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $49.40.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simulations Plus

In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, February 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $33.91, for a total transaction of $678,200.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 3,402,584 shares of the company's stock, valued at $115,381,623.44. The trade was a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 19.40% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in SLP. Barclays PLC increased its stake in Simulations Plus by 390.6% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 28,473 shares of the technology company's stock worth $911,000 after acquiring an additional 22,669 shares during the last quarter. Proficio Capital Partners LLC acquired a new stake in Simulations Plus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $719,000. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Simulations Plus by 4.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 448,618 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $14,367,000 after buying an additional 18,924 shares during the period. State Street Corp lifted its position in Simulations Plus by 4.7% during the third quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,303 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $20,503,000 after buying an additional 28,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Simulations Plus by 106.0% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 47,365 shares of the technology company's stock worth $1,517,000 after buying an additional 24,371 shares during the period. 78.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

The firm's 50-day moving average price is $29.46 and its 200-day moving average price is $30.13. The company has a market cap of $507.60 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.84 and a beta of 1.13.

Simulations Plus Company Profile

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.