Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Raised to “Buy” at StockNews.com

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note issued to investors on Tuesday.

A number of other equities analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $89.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, September 6th. Barclays upped their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $80.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 23rd. Bank of America raised shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and boosted their target price for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a report on Wednesday, August 7th. Finally, Robert W. Baird boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $78.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, August 1st. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have issued a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CTSH traded up $0.61 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $77.38. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 3,863,579 shares, compared to its average volume of 3,850,071. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $76.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $71.54. The company has a market cap of $38.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.60, a P/E/G ratio of 2.16 and a beta of 1.05. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.46 and a current ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $62.14 and a fifty-two week high of $80.27.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $4.85 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company’s revenue was down .7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.10 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total value of $495,584.48. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.26% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% in the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Unison Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Unison Advisors LLC now owns 29,226 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $2,142,000 after buying an additional 172 shares during the last quarter. Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 0.4% in the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 48,552 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $3,558,000 after buying an additional 180 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA grew its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 1.5% in the 1st quarter. Lederer & Associates Investment Counsel CA now owns 12,917 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $947,000 after buying an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 92.44% of the stock is 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.