Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Price Target Cut by Morgan Stanley

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price objective reduced by investment analysts at Morgan Stanley from $70.00 to $68.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the information technology service provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 3.52% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other analysts also recently issued reports on CTSH. Guggenheim reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $80.00 price target (up from $65.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $70.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, October 9th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “hold” rating and issued a $60.00 target price (up from $54.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $67.00 to $77.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday. Ten analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and fourteen have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $67.96.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Up 5.1%

CTSH stock traded up $3.17 during trading on Friday, reaching $65.69. 2,931,503 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 7,939,333. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $62.12 and a 200 day simple moving average of $59.39. The company has a market capitalization of $29.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 14.15, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.24 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11, a quick ratio of 2.18 and a current ratio of 2.18. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $37.08 and a 12 month high of $87.03.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.49 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.46 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.66 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.64 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.39 EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Marquette Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 183.9% in the third quarter. Marquette Asset Management LLC now owns 545 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 353 shares in the last quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 102.4% during the first quarter. Signature Equity Partners LLC now owns 599 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $37,000 after buying an additional 303 shares in the last quarter. Pension & Wealth Management Advisors Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $35,000. Alpine Bank Wealth Management acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the third quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Salomon & Ludwin LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Key Cognizant Technology Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognizant Technology Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q3 earnings and revenue exceeded expectations. Cognizant reported adjusted EPS of $1.49 versus the $1.46 consensus and revenue of $5.66 billion versus $5.64 billion expected. Revenue increased 4.6% year over year, while adjusted operating margin expanded to 16.3%. Cognizant Reports Third Quarter 2026 Results
• Positive Sentiment: Cognizant is expanding its artificial-intelligence offering. The company created an OpenAI Frontier Capability Group with more than 25,000 professionals to deliver OpenAI products, including ChatGPT and Codex, to enterprise customers. The initiative may strengthen Cognizant’s positioning as businesses move AI applications into production, although no immediate financial contribution was provided. Cognizant OpenAI announcement
• Positive Sentiment: Shareholder returns remain a support. Cognizant declared a quarterly dividend of $0.33 per share, or $1.32 annualized, and repurchased approximately $258 million of stock during the quarter.
• Neutral Sentiment: Financial performance was mixed beneath the headline beat. Financial Services revenue grew 12%, and full-year adjusted EPS guidance was set at $5.72–$5.79. However, 2026 constant-currency revenue-growth guidance was narrowed to 4.0%–4.4%, while third-quarter bookings declined 7% year over year; trailing-12-month bookings rose only 4% to $28.7 billion. Cognizant bookings report
• Negative Sentiment: Royal Bank of Canada remains cautious. RBC raised its price target from $47 to $55 but kept a “sector perform” rating. The new target remains below the recent trading level, signaling limited upside in the bank’s view. ETF net selling and concerns that reported growth benefited from acquisitions and resold products may also weigh on sentiment.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a global information technology services and consulting company that helps organizations modernize their technology infrastructure, operations and customer experiences. The company serves businesses across industries including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, retail and communications.

Cognizant’s services include consulting, application development and modernization, cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering, cybersecurity and business process services.