First Light Asset Management LLC Raises Position in Simulations Plus, Inc. $SLP

Key Points

• First Light Asset Management increased its Simulations Plus stake by 6.1% in the second quarter, owning 2.79 million shares worth approximately $51.1 million, or 13.81% of the company. Institutional investors collectively own 78.08% of SLP.
• Simulations Plus reported quarterly EPS of $0.30, beating the $0.23 consensus estimate, while revenue of $21.89 million exceeded expectations of $20.90 million. The stock opened at $18.42, with a 12-month range of $11.09 to $21.01.
• Analyst sentiment remains cautious: seven analysts rate the stock Hold and one rates it Sell, producing an average “Reduce” rating and a consensus price target of $17.25, below the recent share price.

First Light Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP - Free Report) by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 2,792,677 shares of the technology company's stock after purchasing an additional 159,854 shares during the period. Simulations Plus accounts for approximately 3.1% of First Light Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. First Light Asset Management LLC owned about 13.81% of Simulations Plus worth $51,134,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of SLP. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Simulations Plus during the second quarter valued at $27,503,000. First Eagle Investment Management LLC increased its position in Simulations Plus by 1,898.1% in the fourth quarter. First Eagle Investment Management LLC now owns 457,155 shares of the technology company's stock worth $8,334,000 after buying an additional 434,275 shares in the last quarter. Meros Investment Management LP bought a new position in shares of Simulations Plus in the fourth quarter worth about $6,184,000. Marshall Wace LLP raised its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 127.5% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 569,783 shares of the technology company's stock worth $10,387,000 after buying an additional 319,301 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 278.6% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 427,865 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $7,800,000 after buying an additional 314,844 shares in the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Stock Performance

Shares of Simulations Plus stock opened at $18.42 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $372.64 million, a PE ratio of 46.05 and a beta of 1.33. Simulations Plus, Inc. has a 12 month low of $11.09 and a 12 month high of $21.01. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $18.34 and a 200 day moving average of $15.76.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, July 9th. The technology company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.23 by $0.07. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 9.88% and a return on equity of 13.50%. The company had revenue of $21.89 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $20.90 million.

Insider Activity at Simulations Plus

In other news, Director Walter Woltosz sold 4,177 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $18.44, for a total value of $77,023.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 3,202,131 shares in the company, valued at approximately $59,047,295.64. The trade was a 0.13% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Company insiders own 19.10% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on SLP shares. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Simulations Plus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Saturday, June 13th. William Blair downgraded shares of Simulations Plus from an "outperform" rating to a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, June 17th. Craig Hallum downgraded shares of Simulations Plus from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and set a $18.50 price objective on the stock. in a research report on Thursday, June 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings raised shares of Simulations Plus from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $17.25.

Simulations Plus Profile

Simulations Plus, Inc NASDAQ: SLP specializes in advanced modeling and simulation software tailored to the pharmaceutical, biotechnology and chemical industries. The company's flagship products include ADMET Predictor, a quantitative structure-activity relationship (QSAR) tool for predicting absorption, distribution, metabolism, excretion and toxicity properties, and GastroPlus, a physiologically based pharmacokinetic (PBPK) modeling platform for simulating drug absorption and pharmacokinetics.

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