Stifel Nicolaus Reaffirms Buy Rating for Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK)

Stifel Nicolaus reiterated their buy rating on shares of Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) in a research report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a $316.00 price target on the software company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on ADSK. Barclays lifted their price target on Autodesk from $300.00 to $310.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Friday, March 1st. Mizuho raised their price objective on Autodesk from $220.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. Royal Bank of Canada restated an outperform rating and set a $320.00 price objective on shares of Autodesk in a research note on Monday, April 1st. Citigroup raised their price objective on Autodesk from $276.00 to $307.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Monday, February 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Autodesk from $265.00 to $315.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, March 1st. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seven have issued a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Autodesk currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $272.44.

Autodesk Stock Performance

ADSK opened at $236.98 on Friday. Autodesk has a 12-month low of $188.38 and a 12-month high of $279.53. The stock has a market cap of $50.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.29, a PEG ratio of 3.26 and a beta of 1.43. The business has a 50 day moving average of $255.73 and a 200-day moving average of $234.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.23.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 29th. The software company reported $2.09 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by $0.14. The company had revenue of $1.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.43 billion. Autodesk had a return on equity of 75.01% and a net margin of 16.48%. The business’s revenue was up 11.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.26 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts expect that Autodesk will post 5.38 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.28, for a total transaction of $132,154.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 41,816 shares in the company, valued at approximately $10,047,548.48. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other Autodesk news, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 1,628 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $251.54, for a total transaction of $409,507.12. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 13,620 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,425,974.80. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 550 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $240.28, for a total value of $132,154.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 41,816 shares in the company, valued at $10,047,548.48. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 46,770 shares of company stock worth $12,065,385 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Garner Asset Management Corp acquired a new position in Autodesk during the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Ables Iannone Moore & Associates Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Bfsg LLC acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Rakuten Securities Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Autodesk in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Autodesk by 76.9% in the 4th quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 115 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. 90.24% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Autodesk Company Profile

Autodesk, Inc provides 3D design, engineering, and entertainment technology solutions worldwide. The company offers AutoCAD Civil 3D, a surveying, design, analysis, and documentation solution for civil engineering, including land development, transportation, and environmental projects; BuildingConnected, a SaaS preconstruction solution; AutoCAD, a software for professional design, drafting, detailing, and visualization; AutoCAD LT, a drafting and detailing software; computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software for computer numeric control machining, inspection, and modelling for manufacturing; Fusion 360, a 3D CAD, CAM, and computer-aided engineering tool; and Industry Collections tools for professionals in architecture, engineering and construction, product design and manufacturing, and media and entertainment collection industries.