ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS) Lowered to Hold Rating by StockNews.com

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS - Get Free Report) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a note issued to investors on Monday.

Separately, Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price target on shares of ANSYS from $335.00 to $340.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Friday, February 21st.

ANSYS Stock Down 0.8 %

NASDAQ ANSS traded down $2.68 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $318.00. The company's stock had a trading volume of 390,445 shares, compared to its average volume of 483,098. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $315.87 and its 200 day simple moving average is $331.83. ANSYS has a twelve month low of $275.06 and a twelve month high of $363.03. The company has a current ratio of 3.01, a quick ratio of 3.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.12. The firm has a market capitalization of $27.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.55, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.20.

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The software maker reported $3.65 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $3.97 by ($0.32). ANSYS had a net margin of 22.62% and a return on equity of 12.69%. The business had revenue of $882.17 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $864.46 million. Analysts anticipate that ANSYS will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other ANSYS news, Director Glenda Dorchak sold 200 shares of ANSYS stock in a transaction on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.01, for a total transaction of $60,002.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,230 shares of the company's stock, valued at $969,032.30. The trade was a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ANSYS

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. raised its stake in shares of ANSYS by 27.1% during the 1st quarter. Tandem Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 14,647 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,637,000 after purchasing an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its stake in shares of ANSYS by 1,462.8% during the 1st quarter. Teacher Retirement System of Texas now owns 12,784 shares of the software maker's stock worth $4,047,000 after purchasing an additional 11,966 shares during the period. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ANSYS by 37.5% during the 1st quarter. Cannon Global Investment Management LLC now owns 5,500 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,741,000 after purchasing an additional 1,500 shares during the period. Phraction Management LLC raised its stake in shares of ANSYS by 289.4% during the 1st quarter. Phraction Management LLC now owns 19,810 shares of the software maker's stock worth $6,271,000 after purchasing an additional 14,723 shares during the period. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd raised its stake in shares of ANSYS by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 24,937 shares of the software maker's stock worth $7,894,000 after purchasing an additional 662 shares during the period. 92.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

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