Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Sees Significant Growth in Short Interest

Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) was the target of a significant growth in short interest during the month of June. As of June 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,480,000 shares, a growth of 6.5% from the May 31st total of 1,390,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 212,300 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 7.0 days. Approximately 5.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on AZPN shares. Berenberg Bank raised shares of Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $185.00 to $255.00 in a research report on Friday, May 17th. William Blair raised shares of Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $230.00 price target on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Friday, June 14th. Finally, Piper Sandler dropped their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, May 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $219.50.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

NASDAQ AZPN opened at $199.53 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $204.68 and a 200-day moving average of $202.59. The stock has a market cap of $12.64 billion, a PE ratio of -453.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.42 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology has a 52-week low of $162.26 and a 52-week high of $224.77.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, May 7th. The technology company reported $1.54 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.39. The company had revenue of $278.11 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $251.65 million. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 2.46% and a positive return on equity of 2.76%. As a group, analysts predict that Aspen Technology will post 5.52 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Aspen Technology

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 65.7% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 174 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $35,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 561.8% in the 1st quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 225 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 31,634 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $70,000 after purchasing an additional 735 shares in the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology in the 4th quarter worth about $73,000. Finally, UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 100.0% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 400 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $85,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

About Aspen Technology

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.