Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) Price Target Lowered to $550.00 at Needham & Company LLC

Key Points

• Synopsys' price target was lowered by Needham & Company from $660 to $550, yet they maintain a "buy" rating, suggesting a 33.34% upside potential from its current price.
• Several brokerages have also adjusted their ratings and price objectives for Synopsys, with the average target price now at $600.33 and a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy".
• CEO Sassine Ghazi and CFO Shelagh Glaser have each sold significant shares recently, reflecting a 13.70% and 19.27% decrease in their respective ownership of the stock.

Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS - Get Free Report) had its price target reduced by equities researchers at Needham & Company LLC from $660.00 to $550.00 in a note issued to investors on Wednesday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a "buy" rating on the semiconductor company's stock. Needham & Company LLC's price objective indicates a potential upside of 29.27% from the company's current price.

Several other research firms also recently commented on SNPS. Bank of America boosted their price target 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. KeyCorp boosted their price target on shares of Synopsys from $610.00 to $660.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Wednesday, September 3rd. Robert W. Baird restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $535.00 price target (down previously from $670.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Synopsys from $685.00 to $600.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley reiterated an "overweight" rating and set a $715.00 target price (up previously from $540.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research note on Monday, August 11th. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have issued a Hold rating and two have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $585.33.

Synopsys Stock Down 2.9%

Shares of NASDAQ:SNPS traded down $12.65 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $425.45. The company's stock had a trading volume of 6,682,955 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,823,175. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $590.39 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $506.54. The company has a market capitalization of $79.03 billion, a PE ratio of 33.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.32 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.52, a quick ratio of 6.85 and a current ratio of 1.62. Synopsys has a fifty-two week low of $365.74 and a fifty-two week high of $651.73.

Insider Activity at Synopsys

In related news, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 11,366 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $589.01, for a total value of $6,694,687.66. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 71,615 shares of the company's stock, valued at $42,181,951.15. The trade was a 13.70% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Shelagh Glaser sold 3,655 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, September 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $609.77, for a total transaction of $2,228,709.35. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 15,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,339,847.09. This trade represents a 19.27% 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 valued at $13,168,999 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.62% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Synopsys

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of SNPS. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Synopsys in the second quarter valued at $647,964,000. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 54,286.0% in the first quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 1,196,492 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $513,116,000 after buying an additional 1,194,292 shares during the last quarter. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synopsys in the first quarter valued at about $341,480,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 38.3% in 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 buying an additional 673,837 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Synopsys by 29.1% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 2,598,874 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $1,333,095,000 after buying an additional 585,494 shares during the last quarter. 85.47% of the stock is 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.