796,270 Shares in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) Bought by Nuveen LLC

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has made a significant investment in Synopsys, Inc., acquiring approximately $341.48 million for 796,270 shares, which represents 0.51% ownership in the company as of the latest SEC filing.
• Several other institutional investors have also increased their stakes in Synopsys, with a collective 85.47% of the company's stock owned by institutional investors.
• Analysts have given Synopsys a favorable outlook, with an average price target of $622.33 and a majority rating of "buy," despite some fluctuations in target prices among different brokerages.

Nuveen LLC acquired a new position in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 796,270 shares of the semiconductor company's stock, valued at approximately $341,480,000. Nuveen LLC owned approximately 0.51% of Synopsys at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Ameriflex Group Inc. bought a new position in shares of Synopsys during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC lifted its stake in shares of Synopsys by 275.0% during the 1st quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synopsys during the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Meeder Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Synopsys by 33.3% in the first quarter. Meeder Asset Management Inc. now owns 104 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 26 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GoalVest Advisory LLC acquired a new stake in Synopsys in the first quarter valued at approximately $50,000. 85.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts recently commented on SNPS shares. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $660.00 price objective (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. KeyCorp lifted their price objective on Synopsys from $540.00 to $610.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 10th. Morgan Stanley reaffirmed an "overweight" rating and issued a $715.00 price objective (up from $540.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Synopsys from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Mizuho dropped their price objective on Synopsys from $650.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Synopsys currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $630.67.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Shelagh Glaser sold 7,310 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $485.72, for a total value of $3,550,613.20. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at $7,427,144.52. This represents a 32.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 11,366 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.93, for a total value of $5,204,832.38. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 71,589 shares of the company's stock, valued at $32,782,750.77. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 27,686 shares of company stock valued at $13,001,048. 0.62% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Synopsys Stock Down 1.2%

Shares of NASDAQ SNPS traded down $7.23 on Wednesday, hitting $618.57. The company had a trading volume of 1,012,256 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,134,364. The company has a quick ratio of 6.85, a current ratio of 7.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. Synopsys, Inc. has a 12-month low of $365.74 and a 12-month high of $651.73. The business has a 50 day moving average of $550.67 and a two-hundred day moving average of $495.74. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.66, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.15.

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

About Synopsys

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.