Merit Financial Group LLC Grows Position in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS)

Merit Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) by 10.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,573 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after buying an additional 1,567 shares during the quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC's holdings in Synopsys were worth $7,107,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SNPS. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in Synopsys by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 921 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $447,000 after buying an additional 50 shares in the last quarter. Union Bancaire Privee UBP SA bought a new position in Synopsys in the fourth quarter valued at about $17,162,000. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its position in shares of Synopsys by 2.9% during the fourth quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 2,521 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,224,000 after acquiring an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. Stock Yards Bank & Trust Co. bought a new position in shares of Synopsys during the fourth quarter worth about $710,000. Finally, Boston Trust Walden Corp increased its holdings in Synopsys by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 2,474 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,201,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. 85.47% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synopsys Price Performance

SNPS traded up $9.01 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $482.20. 1,676,431 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,145,146. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $454.89 and a two-hundred day moving average of $484.55. The stock has a market capitalization of $74.82 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 1.16. Synopsys, Inc. has a 52 week low of $365.74 and a 52 week high of $624.80.

Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $3.67 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.40 by $0.27. Synopsys had a return on equity of 20.48% and a net margin of 36.12%. The firm had revenue of $1.60 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.60 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $3.00 EPS. The business's revenue was up 10.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Synopsys, Inc. will post 10.64 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Synopsys

In other Synopsys news, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 11,366 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, June 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $457.93, for a total transaction of $5,204,832.38. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 71,589 shares in the company, valued at approximately $32,782,750.77. This trade represents a 13.70% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently issued reports on SNPS shares. Rosenblatt Securities cut their target price on Synopsys from $660.00 to $625.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, May 29th. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Synopsys from $650.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 15th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their target price on Synopsys from $540.00 to $520.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, February 27th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Synopsys from $625.00 to $590.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 24th. Finally, KeyCorp set a $575.00 price objective on Synopsys and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 20th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $609.64.

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.