Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Dropped to “Hold” by Deutsche Bank

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) was downgraded by analysts at Deutsche Bank from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued to investors on Friday, FinViz reports. They currently have a $66.00 target price on the information technology service provider’s stock, down from their prior target price of $75.00. Deutsche Bank‘s price target points to a potential upside of 3.53% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts have also issued reports on CTSH. Susquehanna set a $82.00 target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions and gave the company a “positive” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Needham & Company LLC set a $78.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, October 26th. Wedbush reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $47.00 to $55.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, October 30th. Finally, Daiwa Securities Group raised their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $42.00 to $60.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 25th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fifteen have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $68.00.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.1%

Shares of CTSH opened at $63.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 2.22 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12-month low of $37.08 and a 12-month high of $87.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.50 billion, a PE ratio of 11.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.27 and a beta of 0.83. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $62.49 and its 200-day simple moving average is $58.40.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.46 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $5.66 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.64 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.72% and a net margin of 11.75%. The company’s revenue was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.39 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.78 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. First Trust Advisors LP raised its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 18.0% in the 3rd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 9,116,622 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $523,659,000 after acquiring an additional 1,389,248 shares during the period. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% during the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,404,918 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $392,947,000 after acquiring an additional 222,819 shares during the last quarter. Amundi boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 6,177,881 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $379,013,000 after acquiring an additional 520,532 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 925.5% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 3,652,358 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $141,456,000 after purchasing an additional 3,296,205 shares during the period. Finally, Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 27.2% during the first quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,471,681 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $213,004,000 after purchasing an additional 742,466 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a professional services company that helps businesses use technology to modernize operations and develop digital capabilities. Its services include IT consulting, application development and maintenance, cloud and infrastructure services, data and artificial intelligence, engineering, and business process services. The company serves clients across industries including financial services, healthcare, manufacturing, communications, media, and retail. Its operations span North America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific, with a significant global delivery network.