Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Simulations Plus, Inc. (NASDAQ:SLP) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the five analysts that are covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and four have given a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $56.00.

Several brokerages have issued reports on SLP. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Simulations Plus from $55.00 to $65.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 13th. KeyCorp assumed coverage on Simulations Plus in a research note on Monday, July 29th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $47.00 price objective on the stock. Craig Hallum reissued a “buy” rating and set a $56.00 target price on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Wednesday, July 3rd. JMP Securities started coverage on Simulations Plus in a research note on Tuesday, July 16th. They set a “market perform” rating on the stock. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Simulations Plus in a research note on Thursday, September 12th.

Simulations Plus Stock Performance

SLP opened at $31.15 on Tuesday. Simulations Plus has a 52-week low of $30.61 and a 52-week high of $51.22. The stock has a market capitalization of $623.25 million, a PE ratio of 64.90 and a beta of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $36.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $42.51.

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 2nd. The technology company reported $0.19 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.15 by $0.04. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 7.80% and a net margin of 14.36%. The business had revenue of $18.54 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.92 million. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.20 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Simulations Plus will post 0.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Monday, August 5th. Shareholders of record on Monday, July 29th were given a dividend of $0.06 per share. This represents a $0.24 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.77%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, July 29th. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Simulations Plus

In other news, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,009 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $345,683.88. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.63, for a total transaction of $792,600.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,521,592 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $139,560,690.96. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Daniel L. Weiner sold 750 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $49.32, for a total value of $36,990.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 7,009 shares in the company, valued at $345,683.88. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 60,750 shares of company stock valued at $2,467,390 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Simulations Plus

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. boosted its position in Simulations Plus by 36.8% during the fourth quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 11,426 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $511,000 after purchasing an additional 3,072 shares in the last quarter. First National Bank of Omaha purchased a new position in shares of Simulations Plus during the fourth quarter worth $337,000. Ranger Investment Management L.P. boosted its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 1.4% during the fourth quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. now owns 931,132 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $41,668,000 after buying an additional 12,505 shares during the period. Wasatch Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Simulations Plus by 45.6% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 279,558 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $12,510,000 after buying an additional 87,516 shares during the period. Finally, Ophir Asset Management Pty Ltd purchased a new position in Simulations Plus in the fourth quarter valued at $7,156,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.