Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Sees Unusually-High Trading Volume – Here’s Why

Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) saw unusually-high trading volume on Monday . Approximately 251,015 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, an increase of 35% from the previous session’s volume of 186,035 shares.The stock last traded at $33.15 and had previously closed at $32.65.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on SLP. KeyCorp increased their target price on Simulations Plus from $35.00 to $37.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 24th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Simulations Plus from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Monday. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, one has issued a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Simulations Plus presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $49.40.

Simulations Plus Trading Down 4.0 %

The company has a fifty day moving average price of $28.79 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $30.06. The firm has a market capitalization of $659.84 million, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.03 and a beta of 1.13.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 3rd. The technology company reported $0.31 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.25 by $0.06. Simulations Plus had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 6.84%. The firm had revenue of $22.43 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $21.93 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 22.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Simulations Plus, Inc. will post 1.09 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $33.91, for a total value of $678,200.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,402,584 shares in the company, valued at approximately $115,381,623.44. This represents a 0.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Corporate insiders own 19.40% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Simulations Plus

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Janus Henderson Group PLC boosted its holdings in Simulations Plus by 7,753.3% during the 4th quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 542,899 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $15,141,000 after acquiring an additional 535,986 shares during the period. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 15.0% in the fourth quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,226,262 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $62,090,000 after purchasing an additional 290,414 shares in the last quarter. Royce & Associates LP increased its stake in Simulations Plus by 56.6% during the 4th quarter. Royce & Associates LP now owns 371,797 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $10,369,000 after buying an additional 134,381 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new stake in Simulations Plus during the 4th quarter worth approximately $3,418,000. Finally, Kennedy Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Simulations Plus by 59.4% during the 4th quarter. Kennedy Capital Management LLC now owns 289,286 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $8,068,000 after buying an additional 107,766 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

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.