Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Rating Lowered to "Hold" at Deutsche Bank

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank downgraded Cognizant from Buy to Hold and cut its price target from $75 to $66, implying 3.53% upside from the current share price.
• Analyst sentiment overall is Hold, with an average $68 price target; nine analysts rate the stock Buy and 15 rate it Hold.
• Cognizant beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting $1.49 EPS and $5.66 billion in revenue, up 4.6% year over year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) was downgraded by Deutsche Bank from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report issued on Friday, FinViz reports. They presently have a $66.00 target price on the information technology service provider's stock, down from their previous target price of $75.00. Deutsche Bank's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 3.53% from the stock's current price.

A number of other brokerages have also recently issued reports on CTSH. Susquehanna set a $82.00 target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the stock a "positive" rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "neutral" rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Guggenheim reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $80.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, October 27th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research note on Monday, October 19th. Finally, TD Cowen reissued a "hold" rating and set a $60.00 price objective (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, October 13th. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Hold" and an average target price of $68.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 1.1%

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $63.75 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a P/E ratio of 11.63, a PEG ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $62.49 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $58.40. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $37.08 and a 12-month high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.75% and a return on equity of 17.72%. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's quarterly revenue was up 4.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,116,622 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $523,659,000 after buying an additional 1,389,248 shares in the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,404,918 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $392,947,000 after acquiring an additional 222,819 shares in the last quarter. Amundi increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 6,177,881 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $379,013,000 after acquiring an additional 520,532 shares in the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 27.2% in the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,471,681 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $213,004,000 after acquiring an additional 742,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP raised its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 289.6% in the third quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,905,584 shares of the information technology service provider's stock worth $166,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,159,704 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a professional services company that helps businesses use technology to modernize operations and develop digital capabilities. Its services include IT consulting, application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data and artificial intelligence, engineering, and business process services. The company serves clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, media, and retail. Its operations span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a significant global delivery network.

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