Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) Shares Gap Down Following Insider Selling

Key Points

• Shares of Synopsys, Inc. gapped down significantly from $604.37 to $427.80 following insider selling by CFO Shelagh Glaser, who sold 3,655 shares.
• Several brokerages have downgraded their price targets for Synopsys, with Bank of America cutting its rating from "buy" to "underperform", while Morgan Stanley maintained an "overweight" rating but raised its price target to $715.00.
• 85.47% of Synopsys stock is owned by hedge funds and institutional investors, with significant stake increases noted during the second quarter by firms like Centaurus Financial Inc. and Thrivent Financial.

Shares of Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS - Get Free Report) gapped down before the market opened on Wednesday following insider selling activity. The stock had previously closed at $604.37, but opened at $427.80. Synopsys shares last traded at $401.29, with a volume of 6,877,416 shares trading hands.

Specifically, 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 value of $2,228,709.35. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 15,317 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $9,339,847.09. The trade was a 19.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on SNPS. KeyCorp reduced their price target on shares of Synopsys from $660.00 to $590.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Needham & Company LLC reduced their price target on shares of Synopsys from $660.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Bank of America cut shares of Synopsys from a "buy" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $525.00 price target on the stock. in a research report on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley restated an "overweight" rating and issued a $715.00 price target (up previously from $540.00) on shares of Synopsys in a research report on Monday, August 11th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price target on shares of Synopsys from $650.00 to $550.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $600.33.

Synopsys Price Performance

The stock has a market capitalization of $61.15 billion, a PE ratio of 28.46, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.00 and a beta of 1.14. The company has a quick ratio of 6.85, a current ratio of 7.02 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.01. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $597.69 and its 200-day moving average price is $507.82.

Institutional Trading of Synopsys

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Centaurus Financial Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Synopsys by 22.5% during the second quarter. Centaurus Financial Inc. now owns 1,334 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $684,000 after purchasing an additional 245 shares during the period. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC boosted its stake in shares of Synopsys by 1.2% during the second quarter. Orion Porfolio Solutions LLC now owns 25,706 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $13,179,000 after purchasing an additional 307 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans boosted its stake in shares of Synopsys by 1.3% during the second quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 6,933 shares of the semiconductor company's stock valued at $3,549,000 after purchasing an additional 90 shares during the period. MASTERINVEST Kapitalanlage GmbH purchased a new stake in shares of Synopsys during the second quarter valued at $2,477,000. Finally, Stance Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Synopsys during the second quarter valued at $1,393,000. 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.

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