Piper Sandler Has Lowered Expectations for Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) Stock Price

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) had its target price decreased by equities research analysts at Piper Sandler from $355.00 to $319.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the software maker’s stock. Piper Sandler’s target price indicates a potential upside of 7.56% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $385.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer upgraded Cadence Design Systems from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. KeyCorp reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $405.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upped their price target on Cadence Design Systems from $390.00 to $418.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Fifteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.50.

Cadence Design Systems Trading Down 2.8%

Shares of NASDAQ:CDNS opened at $296.59 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $308.44 and a 200 day moving average of $328.50. The company has a market cap of $80.73 billion, a PE ratio of 73.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 1.01. Cadence Design Systems has a 12-month low of $221.56 and a 12-month high of $376.45. The company has a current ratio of 2.86, a quick ratio of 2.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The software maker reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $1.44 billion for 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 was up 6.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $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. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Cadence Design Systems will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Cadence Design Systems

In other news, VP Paul Scannell sold 5,490 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $339.43, for a total transaction of $1,863,470.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 20,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $6,897,557.03. This represents a 21.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Paul Cunningham sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $295.09, for a total transaction of $295,090.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 95,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $28,073,977.33. This trade represents a 1.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 56,475 shares of company stock worth $18,505,486 over the last three months. 1.99% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cadence Design Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CDNS. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Cadence Design Systems by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $456,000 after buying an additional 676 shares during the last quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC raised its stake in shares of 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 acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 17.8% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 358 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the last quarter. Koshinski Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems during the 2nd quarter worth about $208,000. Finally, Princeton Global Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Cadence Design Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. 84.85% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Trending Headlines about Cadence Design Systems

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.