Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Buys 156,930 Shares of Synopsys, Inc. $SNPS

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in Synopsys, Inc. by 27.6% in the first quarter, owning 724,828 shares valued at approximately $310.8 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Brighton Jones LLC and Jefferies Financial Group Inc., also boosted their positions in Synopsys during the fourth quarter.
• Despite a recent 0.8% drop in share price, research firms have upgraded Synopsys' stock ratings, with price targets reaching up to $715.00.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its position in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) by 27.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 724,828 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 156,930 shares during the period. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned 0.47% of Synopsys worth $310,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. boosted its holdings in Synopsys by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,650 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Hardy Reed LLC increased its holdings in Synopsys by 0.7% in the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,411,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Synopsys by 2.7% in the first quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 832 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $357,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC increased its holdings in Synopsys by 1.3% in the first quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Argent Trust Co increased its holdings in Synopsys by 2.8% in the first quarter. Argent Trust Co now owns 856 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $367,000 after purchasing an additional 23 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 85.47% of the company's stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 11,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $589.01, for a total value of $6,694,687.66. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 71,615 shares in the company, valued at approximately $42,181,951.15. This represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shelagh Glaser sold 3,655 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.77, for a total value of $2,228,709.35. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at $9,339,847.09. The trade was a 19.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 24,031 shares of company stock valued at $13,168,999 over the last 90 days. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on SNPS. Wall Street Zen cut Synopsys from a "hold" rating to a "sell" rating in a research note on Saturday. Morgan Stanley dropped their target price on Synopsys from $715.00 to $510.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday. Bank of America reiterated an "underperform" rating and set a $525.00 target price (down previously from $625.00) on shares of Synopsys in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Piper Sandler dropped their target price on Synopsys from $660.00 to $630.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Synopsys from $685.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, September 10th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have given a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $585.33.

Synopsys Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SNPS traded down $1.94 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $423.51. 1,848,917 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,633,343. The firm has a market capitalization of $78.67 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.23, a P/E/G ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a current ratio of 1.62. Synopsys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $365.74 and a 52 week high of $651.73. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $590.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $507.16.

Synopsys 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.