ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS) Raised to "Buy" at StockNews.com

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a report released on Friday.

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

ANSYS Price Performance

Shares of ANSS traded up $6.68 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $309.94. 252,590 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 555,887. 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $317.67 and a 200 day moving average of $331.99. ANSYS has a one year low of $275.06 and a one year high of $363.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $27.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.32, a PEG ratio of 3.48 and a beta of 1.20.

ANSYS (NASDAQ:ANSS - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 19th. The software maker reported $3.65 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $3.97 by ($0.32). The firm had revenue of $882.17 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $864.46 million. ANSYS had a return on equity of 12.69% and a net margin of 22.62%. As a group, equities analysts expect that ANSYS will post 8.32 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Glenda Dorchak sold 200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $300.01, for a total value of $60,002.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,230 shares in the company, valued at $969,032.30. This trade represents a 5.83 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.46% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On ANSYS

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of ANSYS by 0.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 10,643,766 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,590,462,000 after buying an additional 78,730 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of ANSYS by 2.5% during the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 2,363,744 shares of the software maker's stock worth $796,033,000 after purchasing an additional 58,190 shares during the period. FIL Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of ANSYS by 32.5% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 2,086,177 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $703,730,000 after purchasing an additional 511,557 shares in the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors acquired a new position in shares of ANSYS in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $695,129,000. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in ANSYS during the 4th quarter worth approximately $615,566,000. 92.39% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.