Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) Shares Acquired by Westpac Banking Corp

Key Points

• Westpac Banking Corp increased its stake in Synopsys, Inc. by 9.9% in Q1, acquiring 6,990 shares valued at approximately $2,998,000.
• Other institutional investors also significantly boosted their holdings, with GAMMA Investing LLC increasing its stake by an extraordinary 54,286.0%.
• Equities analysts have a consensus price target of $630.67 for Synopsys, with most ratings being a "buy." Morgan Stanley recently raised its price target to $715.00.

Westpac Banking Corp grew its holdings in shares of Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) by 9.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,990 shares of the semiconductor company's stock after acquiring an additional 631 shares during the period. Westpac Banking Corp's holdings in Synopsys were worth $2,998,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Advisors Capital Management LLC lifted its position in Synopsys by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Advisors Capital Management LLC now owns 840 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $408,000 after acquiring an additional 19 shares during the last quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. increased its stake in shares of Synopsys by 0.5% in the fourth quarter. Williams Jones Wealth Management LLC. now owns 4,650 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $2,257,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Hardy Reed LLC increased its stake in shares of Synopsys by 0.7% in the first quarter. Hardy Reed LLC now owns 3,290 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $1,411,000 after acquiring an additional 22 shares during the period. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Synopsys by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. Resurgent Financial Advisors LLC now owns 832 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $357,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Finally, Trust Asset Management LLC grew its position in Synopsys by 1.3% during the 1st quarter. Trust Asset Management LLC now owns 1,766 shares of the semiconductor company's stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 22 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.47% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Bank of America raised their price objective on shares of Synopsys from $575.00 to $625.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 16th. Needham & Company LLC restated a "buy" rating and issued a $660.00 price target (up previously from $650.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Tuesday, July 15th. Piper Sandler boosted their price objective on Synopsys from $615.00 to $660.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, July 21st. Stifel Nicolaus set a $550.00 price objective on Synopsys in a research report on Monday, April 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities boosted their price target on shares of Synopsys from $625.00 to $650.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. One analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $630.67.

Synopsys Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of Synopsys stock traded up $1.55 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $617.91. 881,572 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,431,324. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01, a quick ratio of 6.85 and a current ratio of 7.02. The firm has a market cap of $95.87 billion, a PE ratio of 44.61, a PEG ratio of 4.09 and a beta of 1.15. The stock's fifty day moving average is $556.26 and its 200 day moving average is $497.32. Synopsys, Inc. has a 1 year low of $365.74 and a 1 year high of $651.73.

Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, May 28th. The semiconductor company reported $3.67 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 earned $3.00 earnings per share. The firm's revenue 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 year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Synopsys news, CFO Shelagh Glaser sold 7,310 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief financial officer owned 15,291 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $7,427,144.52. This trade represents a 32.34% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CRO Richard S. Mahoney sold 9,010 shares of Synopsys stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.21, for a total transaction of $4,245,602.10. Following the sale, the executive owned 1,485 shares in the company, valued at $699,746.85. This represents a 85.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 27,686 shares of company stock valued at $13,001,048. 0.62% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.