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

Key Points

• "Moderate Buy" consensus from 18 analysts (15 buys, 3 holds) with an average 12‑month price target of about $377.06.
• Cadence beat Q1 estimates (EPS $1.96 vs. $1.89, revenue $1.47B, +18.6% YoY) and materially raised guidance—FY26 EPS $7.85–7.95 and Q2 EPS $2.02–2.08—citing sustained AI‑driven demand for chip‑design tools.
• Notable insider selling and financial cautions: the CFO sold 21,500 shares (part of insiders' ~$7.58M in sales over 90 days), while a third‑party report flagged declines in cash/equivalents, lower operating cash flow, and rising liabilities.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and fifteen have issued a buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $377.0556.

Several analysts have issued reports on CDNS shares. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $410.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities restated a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus set a $395.00 price objective on Cadence Design Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Piper Sandler cut their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $355.00 to $319.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO John M. Wall sold 21,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $309.45, for a total value of $6,653,175.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 86,875 shares in the company, valued at $26,883,468.75. This represents a 19.84% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, VP Paul Cunningham sold 1,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.78, for a total value of $297,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 94,137 shares in the company, valued at $28,032,115.86. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 24,680 shares of company stock worth $7,579,340 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.49% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cadence Design Systems

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Occidental Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Cadence Design Systems by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Occidental Asset Management LLC now owns 1,321 shares of the software maker's stock worth $464,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. grew its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 0.4% in the 3rd quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 7,072 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $2,456,000 after buying an additional 30 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC grew its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC now owns 1,033 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $287,000 after buying an additional 31 shares during the last quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC grew its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 4.3% in the 3rd quarter. Cornerstone Wealth Group LLC now owns 777 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $273,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Spirepoint Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 4.6% in the 4th quarter. Spirepoint Private Client LLC now owns 722 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $226,000 after buying an additional 32 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.85% of the company's stock.

Key Cadence Design Systems News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cadence Design Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q1 beat and raised outlook — Cadence reported Q1 EPS of $1.96 (vs. ~ $1.89 consensus) and revenue of $1.47B (+18.6% YoY). Management raised both Q2 and full‑year guidance, signaling stronger demand ahead. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Huge upward revision to FY and Q2 EPS — Cadence guided FY26 EPS to $7.85–7.95 (well above Street) and Q2 EPS to $2.02–2.08, and lifted revenue targets, a major catalyst for multiple expansion given the magnitude of the beat vs. prior consensus. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand narrative reinforced — Reuters and other outlets cite sustained, heavy investment in specialized AI processors as the driver for stronger chip‑design tool demand, supporting Cadence’s raised revenue forecast. Read More.
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst/coverage notes and earnings writeups emphasize the beat — Zacks, Benzinga and Yahoo summary pieces highlight the EPS/revenue beats and the AI tailwind that underpinned the release. Read More.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options activity—put volume spiked ahead of earnings, suggesting some hedging or short interest even as the underlying beat. This is short‑term flow rather than fundamental change.
• Negative Sentiment: Cash-flow and balance-sheet flags plus insider selling — a third‑party report flagged a sizable drop in cash & equivalents, lower operating cash flow Y/Y, rising liabilities and extensive insider sales; these items could temper investor enthusiasm despite the top‑line/earnings beats. Read More.

Cadence Design Systems Price Performance

Shares of Cadence Design Systems stock opened at $336.74 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company's 50-day moving average price is $294.47 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $309.05. Cadence Design Systems has a 52 week low of $262.75 and a 52 week high of $376.45. The stock has a market cap of $92.97 billion, a PE ratio of 82.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.04.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, April 27th. The software maker reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $1.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.45 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 20.93%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 18.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.57 EPS. Cadence Design Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 7.850-7.950 EPS and its Q2 2026 guidance at 2.020-2.080 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Cadence Design Systems will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Cadence Design Systems

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.