Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Given New $61.00 Price Target at Wells Fargo & Company

Key Points

• Wells Fargo cut Cognizant Technology Solutions’ price target from $83 to $61, while keeping an overweight rating. The new target still implies about 40.6% upside from the prior close.
• The stock has seen mixed analyst sentiment recently, with several firms lowering targets, though Wedbush upgraded it to outperform. Overall, MarketBeat shows an average rating of Hold and an average price target of $66.65.
• Cognizant reported better-than-expected quarterly earnings of $1.40 EPS and approved a $2 billion share buyback, signaling confidence in its valuation. The buyback could allow the company to repurchase up to 9% of outstanding shares.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) had its price target lowered by analysts at Wells Fargo & Company from $83.00 to $61.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "overweight" rating on the information technology service provider's stock. Wells Fargo & Company's target price would indicate a potential upside of 40.55% from the stock's previous close.

Other analysts have also recently issued reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $92.00 to $74.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Wedbush raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from a "neutral" rating to an "outperform" rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $56.00 to $70.00 in a report on Monday, June 8th. Robert W. Baird lowered their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $72.00 to $55.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Friday. Finally, Mizuho dropped their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $87.00 to $68.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, May 6th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Hold" and an average price target of $66.65.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Up 2.3%

Shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock opened at $43.40 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $20.57 billion, a PE ratio of 9.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 0.89 and a beta of 0.87. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. The company's fifty day moving average price is $48.50 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $62.63. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $37.08 and a 52-week high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.33 by $0.07. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.50% and a net margin of 10.41%.The business had revenue of $5.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.41 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.23 EPS. Cognizant Technology Solutions's revenue was up 5.8% on a year-over-year basis. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.630-5.770 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.7 EPS for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions announced that its board has approved a share buyback program on Monday, May 18th that allows the company to buyback $2.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization allows the information technology service provider to reacquire up to 9% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares buyback programs are usually an indication that the company's board of directors believes its stock is undervalued.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.4% in the fourth quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 3,852 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $320,000 after buying an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 30,095 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $2,498,000 after acquiring an additional 138 shares during the last quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 7.2% in the fourth quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 2,130 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $177,000 after acquiring an additional 143 shares during the last quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the 2nd quarter. Security National Bank of SO Dak now owns 24,635 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $1,922,000 after acquiring an additional 150 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.0% in the 4th quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 5,535 shares of the information technology service provider's stock valued at $459,000 after acquiring an additional 163 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions NASDAQ: CTSH is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.

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