Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) saw a large decline in short interest during the month of October. As of October 29th, there was short interest totalling 1,050,000 shares, a decline of 28.1% from the October 14th total of 1,460,000 shares. Approximately 1.6% of the company’s shares are sold short. Based on an average daily volume of 543,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days.
AZPN traded up $0.57 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $152.63. 354 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 519,729. Aspen Technology has a 12-month low of $122.29 and a 12-month high of $169.22. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $144.61 and a 200 day moving average of $140.30. The firm has a market cap of $10.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.61 and a beta of 1.35. The company has a current ratio of 3.39, a quick ratio of 3.39 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.39.
Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 26th. The technology company reported $0.77 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.65 by $0.12. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 44.70% and a return on equity of 47.03%. The firm had revenue of $136.00 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $125.23 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.58 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 18.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Aspen Technology will post 4.49 EPS for the current fiscal year.
AZPN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Thursday, October 14th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $170.00 price target on the stock. Loop Capital initiated coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Thursday. They issued a “hold” rating and a $160.00 price target on the stock. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $180.00 to $175.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 28th. Benchmark downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, August 12th. Finally, Zacks Investment Research downgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $164.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Tuesday, November 2nd. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, four have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Aspen Technology presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $164.25.
A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 27.3% during the 3rd quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 312 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares in the last quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. Capital Asset Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,112 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $505,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares in the last quarter. Arizona State Retirement System grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 0.5% during the 3rd quarter. Arizona State Retirement System now owns 18,527 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,275,000 after acquiring an additional 89 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2.0% during the 2nd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 4,601 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $632,000 after acquiring an additional 91 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Man Group plc grew its holdings in Aspen Technology by 0.5% during the 1st quarter. Man Group plc now owns 21,014 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $3,032,000 after acquiring an additional 102 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 97.66% of the company’s stock.
About Aspen Technology
Aspen Technology, Inc engages in the provision of asset optimization solutions. It develops its applications to design, and optimize processes across the engineering, manufacturing, supply chain, and asset performance management areas. The firm operates through the Subscription and Software, and Services and Other segments.