Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) Given “Buy” Rating at Needham & Company LLC

Needham & Company LLC restated their buy rating on shares of Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) in a research report sent to investors on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a $390.00 target price on the software maker’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $410.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird raised their target price on Cadence Design Systems from $390.00 to $418.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. KeyCorp restated an “overweight” rating and issued a $405.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 price objective on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Rosenblatt Securities upgraded shares of Cadence Design Systems from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $335.00 to $360.00 in a research note on Wednesday. Fifteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Cadence Design Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.50.

Cadence Design Systems Trading Up 7.6%

Shares of CDNS stock opened at $305.01 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. Cadence Design Systems has a fifty-two week low of $221.56 and a fifty-two week high of $376.45. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $309.22 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $328.72. The stock has a market cap of $83.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.13, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 1.01.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The software maker reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 30.04%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.88 EPS. Cadence Design Systems has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.950 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.050-8.150 EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Cadence Design Systems will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Paul Scannell sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.43, for a total value of $1,863,470.70. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 20,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,897,557.03. The trade was a 21.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.48, for a total transaction of $60,746.40. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,650 shares in the company, valued at $2,581,722. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 56,475 shares of company stock worth $18,505,486 over the last 90 days. 1.99% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cadence Design Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its position in Cadence Design Systems by 80.2% during the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $456,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its stake in Cadence Design Systems by 3.8% in the first quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $560,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 17.8% during the second quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 358 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems during the second quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems during the second quarter worth about $40,000. 84.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Cadence Design Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and raised guidance — Cadence reported Q4 revenue and EPS above expectations and issued Q1 and full‑year FY2026 guidance well ahead of Street models (Q1 adj. EPS 1.89–1.95; FY EPS 8.05–8.15), underpinning the rally. Cadence Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: AI and custom‑chip demand driving upside — Management emphasized AI-related demand across its portfolio and said the trend toward companies building custom chips should accelerate end market spending on Cadence tools. Cadence Design Systems Earnings Call Highlights AI Surge
• Positive Sentiment: Market coverage and analyst upgrades — Several firms raised/adjusted forecasts after the print (Needham reaffirmed buy with a high PT; Rosenblatt upgraded to buy), supporting investor confidence. These Analysts Revise Their Forecasts On Cadence Design Systems Following Q4 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst target moves — Some shops trimmed price targets (Piper Sandler, Morgan Stanley nudged targets lower but kept constructive stances in places), creating a mix of support and caution. CDNS Price Target Commentary
• Neutral Sentiment: Options flow — Elevated put volume was reported (roughly 8,675 puts traded, ~172% above normal), which could reflect hedging or short‑term speculation rather than directional conviction.
• Negative Sentiment: Investor and insider signals — Data show notable insider selling activity and some analysts/notes (and commentary calling the stock “overpriced”) that remind investors valuation is high after the run. Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) stock rises on Q4 2025 Earnings
• Negative Sentiment: Contrarian takes and selective downgrades — Some research (e.g., Seeking Alpha commentary and an underperform from a firm earlier) argue the shares may be richly valued, which could cap upside if growth disappoints. Cadence: A Strong Company, But Overpriced

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.