Needham & Company LLC Reiterates “Hold” Rating for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)‘s stock had its “hold” rating reissued by stock analysts at Needham & Company LLC in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports.

Other equities research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $77.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 7th. Mizuho initiated coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. Evercore ISI upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $65.00 to $70.00 and gave the stock an “in-line” rating in a research note on Tuesday, March 26th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $90.00 to $82.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, April 22nd. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, thirteen have assigned a hold rating and five have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH opened at $65.37 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.25, a current ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $72.84 and its 200-day moving average price is $72.51. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $58.47 and a 52-week high of $80.09. The company has a market cap of $32.54 billion, a PE ratio of 15.56, a PEG ratio of 1.50 and a beta of 1.08.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 6th. The information technology service provider reported $1.18 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.04 by $0.14. The business had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.76 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 17.83%. The firm’s revenue was down 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.01 EPS. As a group, analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CTSH. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 17.0% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 51,111,915 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,860,483,000 after buying an additional 7,445,089 shares during the period. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $406,360,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 32.8% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 17,663,814 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,196,547,000 after acquiring an additional 4,365,493 shares during the last quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1,861.7% during the 4th quarter. Cibc World Markets Corp now owns 1,686,597 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $127,389,000 after purchasing an additional 1,600,621 shares during the period. Finally, KBC Group NV grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 2,083.8% during the 4th quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 1,422,912 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $107,473,000 after purchasing an additional 1,357,755 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally. It operates through four segments: Financial Services, Health Sciences, Products and Resources, and Communications, Media and Technology.