UPDATE: Pacific Crest Securities Raises PT On Aspen Technology Following FQ4 Revenue Report

In a report published Friday, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Brendan Barnicle reiterated an Outperform rating on Aspen Technology AZPN, and raised the price target from $35.00 to $40.00.

In the report, Pacific Crest Securities noted, “AspenTech posted FQ4 (June) revenue of $83.3 million, which was better than the expectation of $78.8 million, and non-GAAP EPS of $0.24, much better than consensus of $0.08. EPS upside came from the revenue upside, but from also a $9.8 million tax benefit from simplifying the company's Canadian corporate structure. Without the tax benefit, non-GAAP EPS would have been $0.14. FQ4 free cash flow per share was $0.33, much better than our estimate of $0.20. Total contract value (TCV), the license portion of total contract value (LTCV) and annual spending accelerated to 15.1%, 13% and 11.1% y/y growth in FQ4, respectively, from 15%, 12.9% and 11% in FQ3, respectively.”

Aspen Technology closed on Thursday at $31.82.