Cadence Design Systems Sees Unusually Large Options Volume (NASDAQ:CDNS)

Key Points

• Investors bought an unusually large number of puts — 17,933 put options, roughly a 471% increase over typical daily put volume — suggesting elevated bearish positioning or hedging activity.
• Shares dropped $12.92 to $279.61 and now trade below both the 50‑day ($298.58) and 200‑day ($319.45) moving averages, well under the 12‑month high of $376.45.
• Cadence beat quarterly estimates with $1.99 EPS versus $1.91 expected and $1.44B in revenue, set FY2026 guidance (EPS 8.05–8.15), and still carries a "Moderate Buy" analyst consensus with an average target of $376.50.

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) was the recipient of some unusual options trading activity on Tuesday. Investors acquired 17,933 put options on the company. This is an increase of approximately 471% compared to the typical daily volume of 3,143 put options.

Cadence Design Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CDNS traded down $12.92 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $279.61. 572,132 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,545,261. Cadence Design Systems has a twelve month low of $221.56 and a twelve month high of $376.45. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $298.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $319.45. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.67. The company has a market cap of $76.23 billion, a PE ratio of 68.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 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 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a return on equity of 29.34% and a net margin of 20.93%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business 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. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Cadence Design Systems will post 5.41 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cadence Design Systems

In other Cadence Design Systems news, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.03, for a total transaction of $53,105.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,470 shares of the company's stock, valued at $2,203,874.10. The trade was a 2.35% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Paul Cunningham sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $297.78, for a total transaction of $297,780.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 94,137 shares of the company's stock, valued at $28,032,115.86. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 3,185 shares of company stock valued at $963,238 in the last three months. 0.37% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cadence Design Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Y.D. More Investments Ltd purchased a new stake in Cadence Design Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Caitlin John LLC bought a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems during the third quarter valued at about $29,000. Swiss RE Ltd. purchased a new position in Cadence Design Systems during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in Cadence Design Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $30,000. Institutional investors own 84.85% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on CDNS. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a "buy" rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $395.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on shares of Cadence Design Systems from $410.00 to $375.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $376.50.

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.

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