Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $14.06 Million Stake in Synopsys, Inc. $SNPS

Key Points

• The Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund increased its holdings in Synopsys, Inc. by 4.5%, bringing its total ownership to 32,779 shares valued at approximately $14.06 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Cornerstone Planning Group LLC and Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd, also significantly boosted their positions in Synopsys, with notable increases of 275.0% and 441.7% respectively during the 1st quarter.
• Analysts have set new price targets for Synopsys shares, with updates from various firms raising the price target to around $660.00, reflecting a generally positive outlook with a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund raised its stake in shares of Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) by 4.5% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 32,779 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,400 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund's holdings in Synopsys were worth $14,057,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. North Star Asset Management Inc. boosted its holdings in Synopsys by 3.6% in the first quarter. North Star Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,270 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,847,000 after purchasing an additional 2,082 shares during the period. SlateStone Wealth LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 467.8% during the first quarter. SlateStone Wealth LLC now owns 10,220 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $4,383,000 after acquiring an additional 8,420 shares during the period. Dynamic Advisor Solutions LLC acquired a new position in shares of Synopsys during the first quarter valued at $1,000,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 3.4% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 20,172 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $8,651,000 after acquiring an additional 655 shares during the period. Finally, Banque Cantonale Vaudoise acquired a new position in shares of Synopsys during the first quarter valued at $3,116,000. 85.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synopsys Price Performance

Shares of SNPS traded up $1.55 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $617.91. The stock had a trading volume of 881,572 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,514,814. Synopsys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $365.74 and a 12-month high of $651.73. The company has a current ratio of 7.02, a quick ratio of 6.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The company's 50-day moving average is $558.90 and its 200 day moving average is $497.65. The company has a market capitalization of $95.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.15.

Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.27. The company had revenue of $1.60 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $1.60 billion. Synopsys had a return on equity of 17.09% and a net margin of 34.77%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 10.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $3.00 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Synopsys, Inc. will post 10.64 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNPS has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $660.00 target price (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp lifted their target price on Synopsys from $540.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $550.00 price target on Synopsys in a research note on Monday, April 28th. Bank of America boosted their price target on Synopsys from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 16th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Synopsys in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $620.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synopsys currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $630.67.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synopsys

In other news, CFO Shelagh Glaser sold 7,310 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $485.72, for a total transaction of $3,550,613.20. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,144.52. This represents a 32.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CRO Richard S. Mahoney sold 9,010 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.21, for a total transaction of $4,245,602.10. Following the transaction, the executive directly owned 1,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $699,746.85. This trade represents a 85.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 27,686 shares of company stock valued at $13,001,048 over the last quarter. 0.62% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Synopsys Company Profile

Synopsys, Inc provides electronic design automation software products used to design and test integrated circuits. It operates in three segments: Design Automation, Design IP, and Software Integrity. The company offers Digital and Custom IC Design solution that provides digital design implementation solutions; Verification solution that offers virtual prototyping, static and formal verification, simulation, emulation, field programmable gate array (FPGA)-based prototyping, and debug solutions; and FPGA design products that are programmed to perform specific functions.