Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) Shares Sold by State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D decreased its position in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 6.0% during the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 10,871 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 690 shares during the quarter. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $2,596,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of AZPN. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its stake in Aspen Technology by 1.6% during the second quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 4,090,314 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $812,459,000 after purchasing an additional 65,143 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. lifted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 38.5% in the second quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 553,862 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $110,014,000 after acquiring an additional 153,897 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Aspen Technology by 26.5% in the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 524,604 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $104,199,000 after acquiring an additional 109,783 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 3.8% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 340,166 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $67,567,000 after acquiring an additional 12,500 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors raised its position in Aspen Technology by 52.9% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 293,778 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,657,000 after purchasing an additional 101,586 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on AZPN shares. Berenberg Bank cut Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, November 7th. Piper Sandler lifted their price target on shares of Aspen Technology from $217.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Robert W. Baird upped their price objective on shares of Aspen Technology from $230.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Bank of America lifted their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 18th. Finally, Loop Capital upped their price target on Aspen Technology from $204.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $253.00.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Jr. Robert M. Whelan sold 1,000 shares of Aspen Technology stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $219.10, for a total value of $219,100.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 8,540 shares in the company, valued at $1,871,114. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Stock Down 0.0 %

Aspen Technology stock opened at $246.05 on Thursday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $235.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $215.15. The firm has a market cap of $15.56 billion, a PE ratio of -424.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 52-week low of $171.25 and a 52-week high of $249.91.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last released its earnings results on Monday, November 4th. The technology company reported $0.85 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.39 by ($0.54). Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 3.26% and a positive return on equity of 2.81%. The company had revenue of $215.90 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $265.04 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.96 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was down 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.68 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

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.