Wall Street Zen Downgrades Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) to Sell

Key Points

• Synopsys has been downgraded from a "hold" to a "sell" rating by Wall Street Zen, highlighting significant shifts in analyst sentiment.
• The company's stock price has faced multiple target reductions from major firms, with Wells Fargo lowering its target from $630.00 to $550.00.
• Insider activity includes CEO Sassine Ghazi selling 11,366 shares, indicating a 13.70% decrease in his stock ownership amidst overall declines.

Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS - Free Report) from a hold rating to a sell rating in a report published on Saturday morning.

Several other research firms have also commented on SNPS. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on Synopsys from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Citigroup lowered Synopsys from a "neutral" rating to an "underperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Mizuho reduced their target price on Synopsys from $700.00 to $600.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday. The Goldman Sachs Group reduced their target price on Synopsys from $700.00 to $600.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a "neutral" rating and set a $605.00 target price (down from $650.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Wednesday, September 10th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $585.33.

Synopsys Stock Down 1.5%

Shares of SNPS traded down $6.25 during trading hours on Friday, hitting $419.20. The company had a trading volume of 4,422,061 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,113,537. The company has a market capitalization of $77.87 billion, a PE ratio of 32.90, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 5.60 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a current ratio of 1.62, a quick ratio of 1.51 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52. Synopsys has a one year low of $365.74 and a one year high of $651.73. The company's fifty day moving average price is $590.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $507.16.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Robert G. Painter purchased 350 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, September 11th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $425.44 per share, with a total value of $148,904.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director owned 2,291 shares in the company, valued at $974,683.04. This trade represents a 18.03% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, CRO Richard S. Mahoney sold 9,010 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, June 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $471.21, for a total value of $4,245,602.10. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive owned 1,485 shares of the company's stock, valued at $699,746.85. The trade was a 85.85% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 24,031 shares of company stock worth $13,168,999 in the last three months. Company insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC boosted its holdings in Synopsys by 275.0% in the first quarter. Cornerstone Planning Group LLC now owns 60 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $25,000 after purchasing an additional 44 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank acquired a new position in Synopsys in the 1st quarter valued at about $26,000. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd increased its position in Synopsys by 441.7% in the 1st quarter. Clal Insurance Enterprises Holdings Ltd now owns 65 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 53 shares during the period. Independence Bank of Kentucky boosted its holdings in Synopsys by 120.0% in the 2nd quarter. Independence Bank of Kentucky now owns 55 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 30 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Ameriflex Group Inc. purchased a new stake in Synopsys in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. 85.47% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.