Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Shares Gap Up Following Earnings Beat

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP - Get Free Report) gapped up before the market opened on Thursday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock had previously closed at $38.46, but opened at $44.91. Simulations Plus shares last traded at $46.28, with a volume of 95,888 shares.

The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.18 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $18.31 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $17.31 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 8.18% and a net margin of 17.12%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Separately, Craig Hallum lifted their target price on Simulations Plus from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, January 4th.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total value of $798,800.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 3,600,195 shares of the company's stock, valued at $143,791,788.30. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 18,945 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total transaction of $720,288.90. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,641,250 shares of the company's stock, valued at $138,440,325. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total value of $798,800.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,600,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,791,788.30. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 20.90% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund lifted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 2.8% in the 4th quarter. Illinois Municipal Retirement Fund now owns 9,647 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $432,000 after acquiring an additional 263 shares during the last quarter. Rhumbline Advisers lifted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 0.5% in the 1st quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 59,693 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $3,043,000 after acquiring an additional 279 shares during the last quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky lifted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 6.1% in the 2nd quarter. Teachers Retirement System of The State of Kentucky now owns 4,868 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $211,000 after acquiring an additional 280 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,715 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $2,551,000 after acquiring an additional 284 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Simulations Plus by 3.2% in the 4th quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 9,118 shares of the technology company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 287 shares during the last quarter. 78.08% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Simulations Plus Trading Up 23.6 %

The company has a market capitalization of $949.23 million, a P/E ratio of 89.70 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $41.48 and a 200 day moving average price of $40.43.

Simulations Plus Company Profile

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.