Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) Earns Buy Rating from Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) in a research report sent to investors on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $245.00 price objective on the software company’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Autodesk from $224.00 to $232.00 and gave the company a market perform rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. Barclays increased their price objective on Autodesk from $225.00 to $233.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a report on Thursday, August 24th. TheStreet downgraded Autodesk from a b- rating to a c+ rating in a report on Tuesday, August 15th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a buy rating and issued a $253.00 price objective on shares of Autodesk in a research report on Thursday, October 19th. Finally, StockNews.com cut Autodesk from a strong-buy rating to a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, November 16th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have assigned a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $235.11.

Autodesk Trading Up 1.1 %

NASDAQ ADSK opened at $219.70 on Friday. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $207.50 and its 200-day simple moving average is $207.22. Autodesk has a 52 week low of $179.61 and a 52 week high of $232.15. The company has a current ratio of 0.73, a quick ratio of 0.73 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.89. The stock has a market cap of $46.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.38, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 1.46.

Autodesk (NASDAQ:ADSK) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, August 23rd. The software company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.73 by $0.18. Autodesk had a net margin of 16.77% and a return on equity of 90.61%. The firm had revenue of $1.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.32 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.7% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Autodesk will post 4.68 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 115 shares of Autodesk stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $25,300.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,028,540. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In related news, Director Mary T. Mcdowell sold 4,656 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, August 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $222.04, for a total value of $1,033,818.24. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 42,916 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,529,068.64. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, EVP Rebecca Pearce sold 115 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $25,300.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 22,857 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,028,540. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 29,917 shares of company stock worth $6,599,720. Corporate insiders own 0.14% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Autodesk

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Guggenheim Capital LLC raised its stake in Autodesk by 7.5% in the 1st quarter. Guggenheim Capital LLC now owns 44,668 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $9,298,000 after acquiring an additional 3,105 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its stake in Autodesk by 3.4% in the first quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 1,067,600 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $222,232,000 after buying an additional 35,100 shares in the last quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC boosted its stake in shares of Autodesk by 24.2% during the first quarter. Tower Research Capital LLC TRC now owns 7,498 shares of the software company’s stock valued at $1,561,000 after purchasing an additional 1,462 shares in the last quarter. RMB Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Autodesk during the first quarter worth about $221,000. Finally, Carson Advisory Inc. bought a new stake in Autodesk in the second quarter worth approximately $226,000. Institutional investors own 87.92% of the company’s stock.

About Autodesk

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.