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

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by research analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They presently have a $390.00 price objective on the software maker’s stock. Needham & Company LLC’s target price points to a potential upside of 31.49% from the stock’s current price.

CDNS has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Piper Sandler lowered their price target on Cadence Design Systems from $355.00 to $319.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Cadence Design Systems from $410.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Cadence Design Systems from $385.00 to $370.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Wolfe Research reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $385.00 price objective on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.50.

Cadence Design Systems Stock Performance

CDNS opened at $296.59 on Wednesday. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $308.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $328.50. Cadence Design Systems has a 1 year low of $221.56 and a 1 year high of $376.45. The stock has a market cap of $80.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 73.05, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45, a current ratio of 2.86 and a quick ratio of 2.84.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) last released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 17th. The software maker reported $1.99 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.88 earnings per share. 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. Equities research analysts anticipate that Cadence Design Systems will post 5.41 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John M. Wall sold 27,805 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.57, for a total value of $8,857,838.85. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer owned 69,957 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,286,201.49. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, VP Paul Scannell sold 5,490 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.43, for a total value of $1,863,470.70. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 20,321 shares in the company, valued at $6,897,557.03. This trade represents a 21.27% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 56,475 shares of company stock valued at $18,505,486. Insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cadence Design Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its holdings in Cadence Design Systems by 80.2% in 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 last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $560,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. raised its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 358 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $110,000 after buying an additional 54 shares during the period. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. acquired a new position in Cadence Design Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Cadence Design Systems in the second quarter valued at approximately $40,000. 84.85% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

More Cadence Design Systems News

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and 2026 guidance: Cadence reported Q4 revenue and EPS above estimates and issued FY‑2026 guidance that implies healthy growth and margin expansion; the print and outlook are the primary bullish catalyst behind the initial rally after earnings. CNBC: Cadence shares pop on earnings beat, custom chip optimism
• Positive Sentiment: AI product traction: Cadence highlighted its ChipStack AI Super Agent and AI-driven tools (Cerebrus) that management says can materially speed chip design and improve power/performance/area — strengthening Cadence’s growth narrative and valuation premium. Yahoo Finance: Cadence ChipStack AI Super Agent Launch
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst bullishness and price-target support: Several firms (Bank of America, Needham, others) reaffirmed buy ratings or raised targets after the print, supporting upside narratives for investors focused on AI and semiconductor design exposure. InsiderMonkey: Bank of America remains bullish
• Neutral Sentiment: Backlog and visibility: Management flagged a record backlog (~$7.8B) and that a large portion of 2026 revenue is already visible — positive for revenue certainty but implies some growth is already priced in. MarketBeat: CDNS post-earnings note
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy put and unusual options activity: Reported spikes in put buying and large volumes of put options suggest some traders are betting on a pullback or hedging exposure, which can amplify intraday selling pressure. American Banking News: Traders buy put options
• Negative Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves and target trims: A few firms trimmed price targets or maintained neutral ratings (Piper Sandler cut its target; Rosenblatt and others showed mixed messages), adding uncertainty about near-term upside and prompting profit-taking. Benzinga: Analyst revisions after Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Short-interest data reported is unreliable/zero in recent feed (likely a data issue) and should not be relied on for trading signals. (No meaningful linked source.)

Cadence Design Systems Company Profile

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.