Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Raised to Hold at StockNews.com

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Simulations Plus from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, January 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $49.40.

Simulations Plus Stock Up 7.8 %

Shares of Simulations Plus stock traded up $1.86 during trading on Friday, reaching $25.68. 647,171 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 175,152. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $30.03 and a 200-day moving average price of $30.29. The firm has a market capitalization of $515.96 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.20 and a beta of 0.89. Simulations Plus has a twelve month low of $22.87 and a twelve month high of $51.22.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $22.43 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $21.93 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 6.84% and a net margin of 10.97%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $0.20 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Simulations Plus will post 1.09 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Simulations Plus

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.91, for a total transaction of $678,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,402,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,381,623.44. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 19.40% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new stake in shares of Simulations Plus in the third quarter valued at approximately $59,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets increased its stake in Simulations Plus by 402.9% in the 3rd quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 39,944 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $1,279,000 after buying an additional 32,002 shares during the last quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC lifted its position in Simulations Plus by 120.5% during the 3rd quarter. Verition Fund Management LLC now owns 10,365 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $332,000 after buying an additional 5,665 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 4.7% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 640,303 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $20,503,000 after acquiring an additional 28,953 shares in the last quarter. Finally, First National Bank of Omaha increased its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 56.1% in the third quarter. First National Bank of Omaha now owns 9,704 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $311,000 after acquiring an additional 3,488 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

About Simulations Plus

Simulations Plus, Inc develops drug discovery and development software for modeling and simulation, and prediction of molecular properties utilizing artificial intelligence and machine learning based technology worldwide. The company operates through two segments, Software and Services. It offers GastroPlus, which simulates the absorption and drug interaction of compounds administered to humans and animals; and DDDPlus and MembranePlus simulation products.