Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Sees Large Volume Increase – Time to Buy?

Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) saw strong trading volume on Wednesday . 128,925 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 6% from the previous session’s volume of 137,114 shares.The stock last traded at $31.96 and had previously closed at $31.72.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Stephens assumed coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Friday, November 15th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 target price for the company. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Wednesday, November 6th. BTIG Research decreased their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 24th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research report on Monday, November 4th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Simulations Plus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $51.40.

Simulations Plus Trading Up 0.3 %

The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $30.80 and its 200-day simple moving average is $37.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $638.63 million, a P/E ratio of 64.94 and a beta of 0.71.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.04 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $18.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.73 million. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.18 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simulations Plus

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $35.18, for a total transaction of $703,600.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,501,592 shares in the company, valued at approximately $123,186,006.56. This represents a 0.57 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders have sold a total of 60,750 shares of company stock worth $1,905,655 over the last three months. 20.90% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Simulations Plus

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Simulations Plus during the 1st quarter worth approximately $1,082,000. Deerfield Management Company L.P. Series C bought a new stake in Simulations Plus during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $811,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,974 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,000 after buying an additional 1,343 shares during the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 28.8% in the 3rd quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 237,416 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $7,602,000 after buying an additional 53,092 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Tributary Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 54.7% in the 3rd quarter. Tributary Capital Management LLC now owns 325,567 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,425,000 after buying an additional 115,122 shares during the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.