StockNews.com Begins Coverage on ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS)

Research analysts at StockNews.com began coverage on shares of ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS) in a research report issued on Thursday. The firm set a “hold” rating on the software maker’s stock.

Several other research analysts have also recently commented on ANSS. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of ANSYS from $350.00 to $330.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 17th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed a “peer perform” rating on shares of ANSYS in a research note on Wednesday, January 17th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “neutral” rating and set a $345.00 target price on shares of ANSYS in a research note on Friday, May 3rd. Finally, Barclays raised their target price on ANSYS from $314.00 to $340.00 and gave the stock an “underweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 22nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, six have assigned a hold rating and one has issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $320.00.

ANSYS Stock Performance

Shares of ANSS stock opened at $326.96 on Thursday. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $335.06 and a 200 day simple moving average of $323.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.14, a current ratio of 2.80 and a quick ratio of 2.80. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 65.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.01 and a beta of 1.16. ANSYS has a 12-month low of $258.01 and a 12-month high of $364.31.

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The software maker reported $1.39 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by ($0.54). The business had revenue of $466.60 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $549.85 million. ANSYS had a net margin of 19.51% and a return on equity of 10.45%. ANSYS’s revenue for the quarter was down 8.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.45 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that ANSYS will post 7.39 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at ANSYS

In related news, Director Glenda Dorchak sold 150 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 8th. The stock was sold at an average price of $342.08, for a total value of $51,312.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 3,049 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,043,001.92. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Insiders own 0.46% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ANSYS

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in ANSYS by 13.2% during the third quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 5,821 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,732,000 after purchasing an additional 678 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in ANSYS by 57.6% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 3,132 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $932,000 after purchasing an additional 1,145 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in ANSYS by 87.2% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 19,384 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $5,768,000 after acquiring an additional 9,030 shares during the last quarter. Strs Ohio increased its holdings in shares of ANSYS by 38.9% in the third quarter. Strs Ohio now owns 5,623 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 1,576 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. boosted its position in ANSYS by 20.8% in the 3rd quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 87,047 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $25,901,000 after buying an additional 15,003 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.39% of the company’s stock.

About ANSYS

ANSYS, Inc develops and markets engineering simulation software and services for engineers, designers, researchers, and students in the United States, Japan, Germany, China, Hong Kong, South Korea, rest of Europe, the Middle East, Africa, and internationally. It offers structural analysis product suite that provides simulation tools for product design and optimization; the Ansys Mechanical product, an element analysis software; LS-DYNA solver for multiphysics simulation; and power analysis and optimization software suite.