Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) Issues Earnings Results

Simulations Plus (NASDAQ:SLP) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The technology company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.18 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $18.31 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $17.31 million. Simulations Plus had a return on equity of 8.02% and a net margin of 16.22%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.20 EPS. Simulations Plus updated its FY24 guidance to $0.66-0.68 EPS and its FY 2024 guidance to 0.660-0.680 EPS.

Simulations Plus Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SLP traded up $0.68 during trading on Friday, hitting $48.22. The company had a trading volume of 97,310 shares, compared to its average volume of 108,569. The stock has a 50 day simple moving average of $41.48 and a 200 day simple moving average of $40.43. Simulations Plus has a 12 month low of $32.69 and a 12 month high of $52.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $962.95 million, a P/E ratio of 89.70 and a beta of 0.72.

Simulations Plus Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, May 6th. Stockholders of record on Monday, April 29th will be paid a $0.06 dividend. This represents a $0.24 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.50%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, April 26th. Simulations Plus’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 45.28%.

Insider Transactions at Simulations Plus

In related news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total transaction of $798,800.00. Following the sale, the director now owns 3,600,195 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $143,791,788.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other news, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 20,000 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $39.94, for a total value of $798,800.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,600,195 shares in the company, valued at approximately $143,791,788.30. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Walter S. Woltosz sold 18,945 shares of Simulations Plus stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $38.02, for a total value of $720,288.90. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,641,250 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $138,440,325. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 20.90% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Simulations Plus by 407.0% during the first quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 51,431 shares of the technology company’s stock worth $2,622,000 after purchasing an additional 41,286 shares during the last quarter. US Bancorp DE grew its position in Simulations Plus by 233.4% during the first quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 4,171 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $212,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the period. Citigroup Inc. grew its position in Simulations Plus by 15.0% during the first quarter. Citigroup Inc. now owns 13,821 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $705,000 after buying an additional 1,805 shares during the period. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. grew its position in Simulations Plus by 12.6% during the first quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 10,851 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $552,000 after buying an additional 1,212 shares during the period. Finally, MetLife Investment Management LLC grew its position in Simulations Plus by 56.6% during the first quarter. MetLife Investment Management LLC now owns 8,535 shares of the technology company’s stock valued at $435,000 after buying an additional 3,084 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 78.08% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Craig Hallum lifted their price target on Simulations Plus from $50.00 to $51.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th.

About Simulations Plus

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.