King Luther Capital Management Corp Sells 1,520 Shares of Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS)

Key Points

• King Luther Capital Management Corp reduced its stake in Synopsys, Inc. by 20.9% in the first quarter, owning 5,754 shares valued at approximately $2.47 million after selling 1,520 shares.
• Institutional investors hold 85.47% of Synopsys' stock, with several hedge funds, including Invesco Ltd. and Benjamin Edwards Inc., increasing their positions significantly over the same period.
• Wall Street analysts remain positive on Synopsys, with a general consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a price target increase to an average of $630.67.

King Luther Capital Management Corp cut its position in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) by 20.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 5,754 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after selling 1,520 shares during the period. King Luther Capital Management Corp's holdings in Synopsys were worth $2,468,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of SNPS. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in Synopsys by 54,286.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196,492 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $513,116,000 after buying an additional 1,194,292 shares during the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 21.5% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,902,696 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $2,864,933,000 after purchasing an additional 1,045,326 shares during the last quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 38.3% during the first quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,432,596 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,043,518,000 after purchasing an additional 673,837 shares during the last quarter. Capital Research Global Investors purchased a new position in shares of Synopsys during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $239,864,000. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. grew its position in Synopsys by 26.2% during the fourth quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,888,181 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $916,441,000 after buying an additional 391,681 shares during the period. 85.47% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SNPS has been the subject of several recent research reports. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and set a $715.00 target price (up from $540.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Monday. Rosenblatt Securities upped their price target on shares of Synopsys from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. KeyCorp upped their price target on shares of Synopsys from $540.00 to $610.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 10th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $660.00 price target (up from $650.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Tuesday, July 15th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $550.00 price target on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Monday, April 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synopsys presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $630.67.

Insider Activity at Synopsys

In related news, CFO Shelagh Glaser sold 7,310 shares of the company's 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 transaction, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,291 shares in the company, valued at approximately $7,427,144.52. This represents a 32.34% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 11,366 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, June 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $457.93, for a total transaction of $5,204,832.38. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 71,589 shares in the company, valued at $32,782,750.77. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 27,686 shares of company stock worth $13,001,048. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Synopsys Price Performance

Synopsys stock traded down $7.23 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $618.57. 1,012,256 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,134,364. The company has a market cap of $95.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 44.66, a PEG ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 1.15. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $553.58 and a two-hundred day moving average of $496.59. 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.

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