Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) Shares Sold by Phoenix Financial Ltd.

Key Points

• Phoenix Financial Ltd. has reduced its stake in Synopsys, Inc. by 29.4%, selling 825 shares during the first quarter and now holding 1,982 shares valued at approximately $853,000.
• Insider selling has been notable, with CEO Sassine Ghazi and CFO Shelagh Glaser selling a combined 18,676 shares valued at over $8.7 million in recent transactions.
• Research firms have been active in adjusting target prices for Synopsys, with upgrades by institutions like Bank of America and Mizuho, indicating a generally positive outlook for the stock despite some recent volatility.

Phoenix Financial Ltd. cut its stake in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) by 29.4% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,982 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 825 shares during the period. Phoenix Financial Ltd.'s holdings in Synopsys were worth $853,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its position in Synopsys by 275.0% during the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the last quarter. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Synopsys during the 4th quarter worth $29,000. Pilgrim Partners Asia Pte Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Synopsys in the 4th quarter worth $34,000. Cloud Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Synopsys in the 1st quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. raised its position in shares of Synopsys by 28.6% in the 4th quarter. Hazlett Burt & Watson Inc. now owns 90 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $44,000 after buying an additional 20 shares during the period. 85.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently weighed in on SNPS shares. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Synopsys in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $620.00 target price on the stock. Bank of America increased their target price on Synopsys from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 16th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $550.00 target price on Synopsys in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $660.00 target price (up from $650.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, KeyCorp increased their target price on Synopsys from $540.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Synopsys has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $622.33.

Synopsys Stock Up 1.8%

NASDAQ:SNPS traded up $11.39 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $647.20. The stock had a trading volume of 733,964 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,453,672. The company has a market capitalization of $100.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 46.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.92 and a beta of 1.12. Synopsys, Inc. has a 1-year low of $365.74 and a 1-year high of $648.57. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $521.77 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $488.50. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a current ratio of 7.02 and a quick ratio of 6.85.

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

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

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.