Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Upgraded to Strong-Buy by StockNews.com

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) was upgraded by investment analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Thursday.

Several other research firms have also issued reports on ADSK. Piper Sandler Companies upped their price objective on Autodesk from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Piper Sandler increased their target price on Autodesk from $234.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Barclays increased their target price on Autodesk from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Rosenblatt Securities increased their target price on Autodesk from $265.00 to $290.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $316.00 target price on shares of Autodesk in a research note on Friday, April 12th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $272.44.

Autodesk Stock Performance

NASDAQ:ADSK traded down $4.29 on Thursday, hitting $210.63. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 4,608,891 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,420,664. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $252.86 and a two-hundred day moving average of $234.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.03, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 1.43. Autodesk has a one year low of $188.38 and a one year high of $279.53.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The software company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.95 by $0.14. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.43 billion. Autodesk had a return on equity of 75.01% and a net margin of 16.48%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.26 earnings per share. Research analysts predict that Autodesk will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Autodesk news, Director Stacy J. Smith sold 7,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total transaction of $1,843,176.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 19,934 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $4,863,896. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. In other news, Director Stacy J. Smith sold 7,554 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total transaction of $1,843,176.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 19,934 shares in the company, valued at $4,863,896. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CEO Andrew Anagnost sold 21,053 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $259.99, for a total value of $5,473,569.47. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 105,213 shares in the company, valued at $27,354,327.87. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 46,220 shares of company stock worth $11,933,231. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Autodesk

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Autodesk by 351.2% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 3,623 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $775,000 after buying an additional 2,820 shares during the period. Panagora Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 71.7% during the first quarter. Panagora Asset Management Inc. now owns 4,479 shares of the software company’s stock worth $960,000 after purchasing an additional 1,871 shares during the period. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 3.6% during the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 4,691 shares of the software company’s stock worth $1,006,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the period. Moors & Cabot Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk during the first quarter worth approximately $218,000. Finally, Dakota Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Autodesk by 18.0% during the first quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 1,915 shares of the software company’s stock worth $411,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. 90.24% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Autodesk Company Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.