Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Morgan Stanley Analyst Says

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price target hoisted by Morgan Stanley from $75.00 to $80.00 in a report published on Friday,Benzinga reports. They currently have an equal weight rating on the information technology service provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the company. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the stock from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. StockNews.com lowered Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, Mizuho raised their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $83.00 to $84.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $81.12.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Down 0.2 %

CTSH stock opened at $82.61 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average is $79.16 and its two-hundred day moving average is $77.25. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $63.79 and a twelve month high of $83.47. The company has a current ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. The stock has a market cap of $40.96 billion, a P/E ratio of 18.28, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 1.07.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The information technology service provider reported $1.25 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.15 by $0.10. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. The business had revenue of $5.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.99 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 3.0% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. The trade was a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.26% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CTSH. Addison Advisors LLC raised its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% during the third quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares in the last quarter. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC bought a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter valued at $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont boosted its stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 292 shares during the period. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. grew its holdings in 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 worth $35,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Eastern Bank bought a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.