Investors Purchase High Volume of Cadence Design Systems Put Options (NASDAQ:CDNS)

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) was the recipient of unusually large options trading on Tuesday. Traders acquired 17,933 put options on the stock. This represents an increase of approximately 471% compared to the typical volume of 3,143 put options.

Trending Headlines about Cadence Design Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Recent fundamentals remain supportive — Q4 EPS and revenue topped expectations and management left strong FY/Q1 guidance, underpinning the company’s cash flow and backlog (fundamental tailwind).
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst targets generally sit well above the current price (median target ~$375), indicating continued analyst confidence in upside over the medium term. QuiverQuant: CDNS slides
• Neutral Sentiment: Sector backdrop: rising AI tool adoption is boosting demand for EDA/design automation overall (positive for the space, but not a company-specific catalyst). Can Rising AI Tool Adoption Lift Synopsys’ Design Automation Revenues?
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short-interest data for March appears anomalous (entries show 0 shares / NaN changes) — data inconsistency makes short-interest signals uninformative this cycle.
• Negative Sentiment: Heavy put buying: unusually large put-option volume was reported (large one‑day increase in puts), signaling either hedging or outright bearish positioning that can pressure the stock.
• Negative Sentiment: Automatic shelf registration filed earlier this year gives the company flexibility to issue securities — investors often view this as a potential dilution/financing flag. QuiverQuant: CDNS slides
• Negative Sentiment: Notable insider selling and institutional repositioning have been reported (multiple insider sales, large fund rebalances), which can weigh on sentiment even if not company-actionable. QuiverQuant: CDNS slides
• Negative Sentiment: Macro/valuation sensitivity: commentary highlights a ~16% decline over the past six months and concerns that high multiples make the stock vulnerable to risk‑off moves and short-term profit-taking. Cadence Registers Bigger Fall Than Market

Insider Buying and Selling at Cadence Design Systems

In other news, VP Paul Cunningham sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $297.78, for a total transaction of $297,780.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 94,137 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $28,032,115.86. This represents a 1.05% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of Cadence Design Systems stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, March 17th. The stock was sold at an average price of $295.03, for a total value of $53,105.40. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 7,470 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,203,874.10. The trade was a 2.35% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 3,185 shares of company stock valued at $963,238 in the last 90 days. Company insiders own 1.99% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CDNS. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cadence Design Systems by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 27,231,070 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $8,511,888,000 after acquiring an additional 307,753 shares during the period. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 1.1% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,603,368 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $3,939,561,000 after acquiring an additional 135,206 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 7,627,272 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $2,378,707,000 after acquiring an additional 92,152 shares during the period. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA grew its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 16.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,314,407 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $1,866,739,000 after purchasing an additional 731,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in Cadence Design Systems during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $1,352,922,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.85% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Needham & Company LLC reissued a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 price objective on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Wednesday, February 18th. Oppenheimer raised shares of Cadence Design Systems from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems from $355.00 to $319.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reissued a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Monday, December 29th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $376.50.

Cadence Design Systems Stock Down 1.0%

NASDAQ CDNS opened at $281.39 on Thursday. Cadence Design Systems has a 52 week low of $221.56 and a 52 week high of $376.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45. The company has a market capitalization of $76.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.42 and a beta of 1.00. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $297.17 and its 200-day moving average price is $318.71.

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

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.