Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, thirteen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $403.88.

A number of research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Wall Street Zen lowered shares of Cadence Design Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, September 12th. FBN Securities initiated coverage on Cadence Design Systems in a report on Friday, September 11th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $375.00 price target for the company. Rosenblatt Securities lifted their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $410.00 to $420.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $395.00 to $432.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer restated a “market perform” rating and issued a $300.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Tuesday, July 28th.

Key Headlines Impacting Cadence Design Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Expanded TSMC partnership supports growth prospects: Cadence announced certified tools for Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing’s advanced A14 process, along with UALink and silicon-proven intellectual property for TSMC’s N3P and N2P technologies. The collaboration targets AI, high-performance computing, agentic-AI chip design and 3D-IC workflows, strengthening Cadence’s position in next-generation chip development. Cadence Collaborates With TSMC to Deliver Certified Tool Solutions
• Positive Sentiment: AI design-agent momentum is attracting investor interest: Cadence’s new RTL Generation Agent and ChipStack AI Super Agent are designed to automate chip design and optimization. Early evaluations cited by Zacks indicated 24% lower area and 18% lower power, while Cadence has highlighted customer validation and expected fourth-quarter availability. Cadence’s New RTL Generation Agent Could Reshape AI-Driven Chip Design
• Positive Sentiment: Fundamental visibility remains supportive: Cadence previously reported record backlog of approximately $8.1 billion and raised its full-year 2026 outlook. Strong demand from semiconductor companies, hyperscalers and custom-silicon customers reinforces the view that AI infrastructure spending can support future revenue.
• Neutral Sentiment: Options-market activity is drawing attention, but the available report does not identify a definitive bullish or bearish positioning signal. Reported short-interest data showing zero shares also appears potentially incomplete or anomalous, limiting its usefulness.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider-trading data shows executives have recorded multiple open-market sales and no purchases during the past six months. These transactions may reflect compensation or diversification, but they could temper bullish sentiment, particularly given CDNS’s elevated valuation.

Cadence Design Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CDNS opened at $322.00 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $317.72 and a 200-day simple moving average of $333.37. The company has a quick ratio of 1.53, a current ratio of 1.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.36. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 64.02, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 1.14. Cadence Design Systems has a 52 week low of $262.75 and a 52 week high of $416.69.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 27th. The software maker reported $2.11 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.05 by $0.06. Cadence Design Systems had a net margin of 23.60% and a return on equity of 27.98%. The firm had revenue of $1.58 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.58 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.65 earnings per share. Cadence Design Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 24.2% on a year-over-year basis. Cadence Design Systems has set its FY 2026 guidance at 8.050-8.150 EPS and its Q3 2026 guidance at 2.010-2.070 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Cadence Design Systems will post 6.4 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Paul Cunningham sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $323.32, for a total transaction of $646,640.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 124,586 shares in the company, valued at approximately $40,281,145.52. This trade represents a 1.58% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of Cadence Design Systems stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $285.51, for a total transaction of $51,391.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 7,824 shares in the company, valued at $2,233,830.24. This trade represents a 2.25% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders have sold 5,710 shares of company stock worth $1,748,292 in the last quarter. 0.49% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cadence Design Systems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CDNS. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in 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 valued at $3,939,561,000 after acquiring an additional 135,206 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in 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 valued at $2,378,707,000 after purchasing an additional 92,152 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in Cadence Design Systems by 21.8% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 4,889,765 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,835,227,000 after purchasing an additional 874,392 shares during the period. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $1,352,922,000. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,385,655 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,270,704,000 after purchasing an additional 48,937 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 84.85% of the company’s stock.

About Cadence Design Systems

Cadence Design Systems, Inc is a technology company that develops electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware and semiconductor intellectual property (IP). Its products help engineers design, verify and analyze integrated circuits, printed circuit boards and complete electronic systems.

The company offers solutions spanning digital and custom IC design, functional verification, digital and analog simulation, emulation and prototyping, system analysis, and 3D computational fluid dynamics.