Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Brokerages

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) has been given a consensus rating of “Buy” by the seven analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, five have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $51.40.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLP. BTIG Research dropped their target price on shares of Simulations Plus from $60.00 to $50.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 24th. StockNews.com cut shares of Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a report on Monday, November 4th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Wednesday, November 6th. Finally, Stephens initiated coverage on shares of Simulations Plus in a report on Friday, November 15th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $39.00 price target on the stock.

Simulations Plus Price Performance

Shares of Simulations Plus stock opened at $30.04 on Friday. Simulations Plus has a 1 year low of $27.07 and a 1 year high of $51.22. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $30.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $36.12. The stock has a market cap of $602.81 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 63.02 and a beta of 0.76.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The technology company reported $0.06 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.04 by $0.02. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 14.15% and a return on equity of 6.16%. The company had revenue of $18.70 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $19.73 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.18 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 19.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts expect that Simulations Plus will post 1.1 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Simulations Plus news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, December 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $31.76, for a total transaction of $635,200.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,442,584 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $109,336,467.84. This trade represents a 0.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders sold 60,750 shares of company stock worth $1,837,255 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of SLP. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 82.6% during the 3rd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 818 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 370 shares in the last quarter. nVerses Capital LLC increased its holdings in Simulations Plus by 1,100.0% in the 3rd quarter. nVerses Capital LLC now owns 1,200 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 1,100 shares in the last quarter. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in Simulations Plus in the 3rd quarter worth $59,000. US Bancorp DE increased its holdings in Simulations Plus by 37.0% in the 3rd quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,974 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $159,000 after acquiring an additional 1,343 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Los Angeles Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Simulations Plus in the 2nd quarter worth $206,000. 78.08% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.