Louisiana State Employees Retirement System Acquires Shares of 7,900 Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Louisiana State Employees Retirement System acquired a new stake in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 7,900 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,739,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in AZPN. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in Aspen Technology by 41.2% in the 1st quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 3,404 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $563,000 after purchasing an additional 993 shares in the last quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 5,603 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $918,000 after acquiring an additional 454 shares during the period. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 7.6% during the 1st quarter. Great West Life Assurance Co. Can now owns 36,499 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $6,201,000 after acquiring an additional 2,579 shares during the period. Raymond James Trust N.A. acquired a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $222,000. Finally, Allianz Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in shares of Aspen Technology by 1,331.8% during the 1st quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 170,315 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $28,165,000 after acquiring an additional 158,420 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 45.66% of the company’s stock.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

Shares of Aspen Technology stock opened at $196.59 on Friday. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 1 year low of $161.32 and a 1 year high of $236.78. The company has a market capitalization of $12.49 billion, a P/E ratio of -145.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.03 and a beta of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $198.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $196.53.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.17 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.06). Aspen Technology had a positive return on equity of 2.38% and a negative net margin of 8.17%. The company had revenue of $257.16 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $259.70 million. As a group, research analysts expect that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on AZPN shares. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Piper Sandler reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $196.00 price target on shares of Aspen Technology in a research report on Wednesday, February 7th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $210.25.

Aspen Technology 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.