TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC trimmed its position in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) by 18.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 192,900 shares of the technology company’s stock after selling 44,615 shares during the period. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Aspen Technology were worth $42,467,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. Alaska Permanent Fund Corp purchased a new position in shares of Aspen Technology during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $2,957,000. Toronto Dominion Bank lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 79,514.3% during the 3rd quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 5,573 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $1,138,000 after purchasing an additional 5,566 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.2% during the fourth 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 last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 7.0% in the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 198,913 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $40,630,000 after purchasing an additional 13,009 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB lifted its position in Aspen Technology by 12.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 1,044,959 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $215,920,000 after buying an additional 119,102 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have commented on AZPN shares. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Aspen Technology from $196.00 to $180.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on shares of Aspen Technology from $225.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Aspen Technology from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Aspen Technology Price Performance

NASDAQ AZPN traded up $8.15 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $205.94. The company had a trading volume of 441,402 shares, compared to its average volume of 214,088. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $202.53 and its 200 day moving average is $196.45. The company has a market capitalization of $13.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -151.72, a P/E/G ratio of 2.05 and a beta of 0.76. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $161.32 and a fifty-two week high of $224.77.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The technology company reported $1.17 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.23 by ($0.06). The company had revenue of $257.16 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $259.70 million. Aspen Technology had a negative net margin of 8.17% and a positive return on equity of 2.38%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 5.82 EPS for the current year.

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.