Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) Given Average Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Cadence received a consensus "Moderate Buy" from 18 analysts (15 buy, 3 hold) with an average 1‑year price target of $376.50.
• In the latest quarter Cadence beat estimates—EPS $1.99 vs. $1.91 and revenue $1.44B vs. $1.42B—and issued Q1 FY2026 EPS guidance of $1.890–1.950 and full‑year guidance of 8.050–8.150.
• Insiders have been net sellers recently: the CFO sold 27,805 shares and a VP sold 5,490, totaling 36,480 shares worth $11.69M over the past 90 days, with insiders now owning 0.37% of the company.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) has received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $376.50.

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the company. Piper Sandler decreased their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $355.00 to $319.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $360.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Oppenheimer raised Cadence Design Systems from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and set a $275.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $390.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO John M. Wall sold 27,805 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $318.57, for a total transaction of $8,857,838.85. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,957 shares in the company, valued at approximately $22,286,201.49. This represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Paul Scannell sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.43, for a total transaction of $1,863,470.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 20,321 shares in the company, valued at $6,897,557.03. This trade represents a 21.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 36,480 shares of company stock worth $11,692,189 over the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.37% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,231,070 shares of the software maker's stock worth $8,511,888,000 after acquiring an additional 307,753 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its holdings in Cadence Design Systems by 1.1% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,603,368 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $3,939,561,000 after acquiring an additional 135,206 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its position in Cadence Design Systems by 1.2% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,627,272 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,378,707,000 after acquiring an additional 92,152 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA increased its stake in Cadence Design Systems by 16.0% in the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,314,407 shares of the software maker's stock worth $1,866,739,000 after purchasing an additional 731,788 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Cadence Design Systems in the fourth quarter worth $1,352,922,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.85% of the company's stock.

Cadence Design Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CDNS opened at $296.94 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $304.06 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $323.85. Cadence Design Systems has a 52 week low of $221.56 and a 52 week high of $376.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $80.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.14, a PEG ratio of 3.56 and a beta of 1.00.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.42 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The business's revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.88 EPS. Cadence Design Systems has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.950 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.050-8.150 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cadence Design Systems will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Cadence Design Systems Company Profile

Cadence Design Systems, Inc NASDAQ: CDNS is a global provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware and intellectual property used to design and verify advanced semiconductor chips, systems-on-chip (SoCs), printed circuit boards (PCBs) and packaging. Headquartered in San Jose, California and founded in 1988, Cadence serves semiconductor companies, original equipment manufacturers and system designers across the globe, helping customers accelerate design cycles and manage the complexity of modern integrated systems.

The company's offerings span software tools for digital, custom/analog and mixed-signal design, verification and signoff, as well as solutions for system-level modeling, thermal and signal integrity analysis, and PCB and package design.

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