Principal Securities Inc. Takes $73,000 Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Principal Securities Inc. acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 333 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $73,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. Kayne Anderson Rudnick Investment Management LLC now owns 3,721,956 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $760,247,000 after purchasing an additional 124,934 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 12.9% in the 3rd quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,959 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $215,920,000 after purchasing an additional 119,102 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 116.1% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 567,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $115,856,000 after purchasing an additional 304,712 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. now owns 415,662 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $91,508,000 after purchasing an additional 8,856 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp raised its holdings in Aspen Technology by 7.0% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 198,913 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $40,630,000 after purchasing an additional 13,009 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on AZPN. William Blair raised Aspen Technology to a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, May 7th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price objective on Aspen Technology from $210.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 15th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, May 8th. Berenberg Bank upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $255.00 in a research note on Friday, May 17th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Aspen Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 7th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and three have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $219.50.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

AZPN stock opened at $220.71 on Thursday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.32 and a 1 year high of $224.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $13.98 billion, a PE ratio of -501.60, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.76. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $205.60 and a 200-day simple moving average of $199.10.

Aspen Technology Company Profile

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.