Piper Sandler Raises Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) Price Target to $349.00

Key Points

• Piper Sandler raised Cadence Design Systems’ price target from $325 to $349 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying roughly 3% upside. The broader analyst consensus remains “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $397.12.
• Cadence reported quarterly EPS of $2.11, beating the $2.05 consensus, while revenue rose 24.2% year over year to $1.58 billion. Management issued 2026 EPS guidance of $8.05–$8.15 and cited strong AI-related demand and an $8.1 billion backlog.
• Valuation and insider activity remain considerations: the stock trades at a P/E ratio near 79, while insiders have sold approximately $60.3 million of shares over the past three months, primarily through pre-arranged trading plans.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) had its price objective raised by stock analysts at Piper Sandler from $325.00 to $349.00 in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat reports. The firm currently has a "neutral" rating on the software maker's stock. Piper Sandler's target price suggests a potential upside of 3.07% from the company's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $400.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 26th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Cadence Design Systems from $395.00 to $432.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, June 9th. Citigroup reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Tuesday. KeyCorp lifted their price target on Cadence Design Systems from $405.00 to $425.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reiterated a "buy" rating and set a $400.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Tuesday. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $397.12.

Cadence Design Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ CDNS opened at $338.61 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.47, a quick ratio of 1.32 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.38. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $373.77 and a 200 day simple moving average of $329.63. The company has a market cap of $93.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 1.15. Cadence Design Systems has a 1 year low of $262.75 and a 1 year high of $416.69.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The software maker reported $2.11 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $2.05 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.58 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a net margin of 21.18% and a return on equity of 28.44%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.65 EPS. Cadence Design Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.050-8.150 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.070 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Cadence Design Systems will post 6.23 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paul Scannell sold 7,081 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, June 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $393.91, for a total value of $2,789,276.71. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 32,181 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,676,417.71. This represents a 18.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of Cadence Design Systems stock in a transaction on Wednesday, June 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $387.45, for a total transaction of $69,741.00. Following the sale, the director owned 8,004 shares in the company, valued at $3,101,149.80. This represents a 2.20% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. In the last three months, insiders have sold 157,057 shares of company stock worth $60,272,277. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cadence Design Systems

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Cadence Design Systems by 933.3% during the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 93 shares of the software maker's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 860.0% in the 1st quarter. Brown Lisle Cummings Inc. now owns 96 shares of the software maker's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. University of Texas Texas AM Investment Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Swiss RE Ltd. acquired a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems in the 4th quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Lodestone Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems during the 4th quarter worth approximately $30,000. 84.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cadence Design Systems News Summary

Here are the key news stories impacting Cadence Design Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q2 earnings beat expectations: Cadence reported adjusted earnings of $2.11 per share, above the $2.05 consensus estimate. Revenue reached $1.58 billion, in line with expectations but up 24.2% year over year. Cadence Design Systems Surpasses Q2 Earnings and Revenue Estimates
• Positive Sentiment: Raised full-year guidance: Management projected 2026 earnings of $8.05-$8.15 per share and revenue of approximately $6.3 billion, modestly above prior expectations. Third-quarter EPS guidance of $2.01-$2.07 also exceeded the $1.84 analyst consensus. Cadence raises annual forecasts as demand booms for AI chip design
• Positive Sentiment: AI-driven demand remains strong: Cadence cited robust customer spending on AI-powered chip and system design software. Reports highlighted a record $8.1 billion backlog and expanding partnerships around agentic AI, supporting expectations for roughly 19% revenue growth in 2026. Cadence signals 19 percent 2026 revenue growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Valuation remains demanding: With CDNS trading at a high earnings multiple and above its 200-day moving average, continued share-price gains may depend on the company sustaining elevated growth and converting its backlog into revenue.

About Cadence Design Systems

Cadence Design Systems, Inc NASDAQ: CDNS is a global provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware and intellectual property used to design and verify advanced semiconductor chips, systems-on-chip (SoCs), printed circuit boards (PCBs) and packaging. Headquartered in San Jose, California and founded in 1988, Cadence serves semiconductor companies, original equipment manufacturers and system designers across the globe, helping customers accelerate design cycles and manage the complexity of modern integrated systems.

The company's offerings span software tools for digital, custom/analog and mixed-signal design, verification and signoff, as well as solutions for system-level modeling, thermal and signal integrity analysis, and PCB and package design.

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