Dark Forest Capital Management LP Invests $430,000 in Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN)

Dark Forest Capital Management LP bought a new stake in shares of Aspen Technology, Inc. (NASDAQ:AZPN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 1,723 shares of the technology company’s stock, valued at approximately $430,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 1.3% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 2,831,209 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $706,755,000 after acquiring an additional 36,497 shares during the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. grew its position in Aspen Technology by 2,272.7% during the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 690,940 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $172,479,000 after purchasing an additional 661,820 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its stake in Aspen Technology by 37,990.7% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 634,210 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $158,318,000 after purchasing an additional 632,545 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Aspen Technology by 2.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 623,820 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $155,721,000 after buying an additional 12,456 shares during the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Aspen Technology by 89.2% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 363,449 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $86,799,000 after buying an additional 171,351 shares during the period. 45.66% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Aspen Technology Stock Performance

Aspen Technology stock opened at $264.33 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $16.73 billion, a PE ratio of 3,304.54, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.73. Aspen Technology, Inc. has a 12 month low of $171.25 and a 12 month high of $277.37. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $264.37 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $255.05.

Aspen Technology (NASDAQ:AZPN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The technology company reported $1.88 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.85 by $0.03. Aspen Technology had a net margin of 0.54% and a return on equity of 3.17%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Aspen Technology, Inc. will post 6.7 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

AZPN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Piper Sandler raised their target price on Aspen Technology from $240.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Loop Capital upgraded Aspen Technology from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $265.00 to $315.00 in a research note on Monday, February 10th. Baird R W lowered Aspen Technology from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Robert W. Baird reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $265.00 price target (down previously from $275.00) on shares of Aspen Technology in a report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, StockNews.com started coverage on shares of Aspen Technology in a research note on Wednesday. They set a “hold” rating for the company. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $272.00.

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.