Gradient Investments LLC Raises Stake in Synopsys, Inc. $SNPS

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its position in Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) by 15.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 48,856 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,626 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Synopsys were worth $21,249,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of SNPS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Synopsys during the second quarter worth $7,228,099,000. State Street Corp raised its stake in Synopsys by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 8,788,890 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $4,128,317,000 after acquiring an additional 28,532 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp lifted its stake in shares of Synopsys by 19.7% during the 2nd quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,457,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $1,542,175,000 after buying an additional 569,687 shares in the last quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC lifted its position in shares of Synopsys by 40.7% during the second quarter. UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC now owns 3,087,349 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,377,174,000 after acquiring an additional 892,736 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its stake in Synopsys by 39.5% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 2,455,402 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,095,281,000 after purchasing an additional 695,146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 85.47% of the company’s stock.

Key Headlines Impacting Synopsys

Here are the key news stories impacting Synopsys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: AI partnerships strengthen the growth outlook. Synopsys announced chip-design and verification collaborations with OpenAI and Amazon. The expanded Amazon relationship could represent a potential $1 billion opportunity, while Nvidia’s $2 billion investment and planned agentic-AI workflows reinforce Synopsys’ role in increasingly complex AI-chip development. Synopsys AI chip-design alliances
• Positive Sentiment: Share buyback provides support. Synopsys’ board authorized a $1 billion repurchase program, allowing the company to reacquire up to approximately 1.1% of its outstanding shares. The buyback could modestly lift earnings per share and signals management’s confidence in the stock’s long-term value. Synopsys stock repurchase program
• Positive Sentiment: Recent financial results support investor optimism. Synopsys reported quarterly adjusted EPS of $3.91 versus the $3.67 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.48 billion versus $2.44 billion expected. Revenue grew 42.4% year over year, underscoring strong demand for its electronic-design-automation software and semiconductor IP.
• Neutral Sentiment: Analysts remain broadly constructive but divided on valuation. The consensus rating is Moderate Buy, with an average price target of $584.11 and targets as high as $640. However, HSBC has a Reduce rating, and the stock trades at roughly 89 times earnings, leaving limited room for execution disappointments.
• Negative Sentiment: Multiple insiders sold shares. CFO Sudhindra Kankanwadi sold 9,170 shares for approximately $4.59 million on October 6 and 3,000 shares for about $1.45 million on October 5. Janet Lee separately sold 1,144 shares valued at approximately $575,000. The sales reduce insider ownership and may create a near-term sentiment overhang, although they do not necessarily indicate weakening business conditions. Synopsys insider selling
• Negative Sentiment: Expectations remain high. Commentary notes that SNPS has sometimes declined after earnings beats, suggesting that its elevated valuation and strong AI expectations may already be reflected in the share price.

Synopsys Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ SNPS traded down $0.59 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $502.07. 1,014,004 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,030,949. The company has a market capitalization of $96.22 billion, a P/E ratio of 88.67, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Synopsys, Inc. has a 52-week low of $362.55 and a 52-week high of $539.48. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $415.01 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $437.96.

Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported $3.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $3.67 by $0.24. Synopsys had a return on equity of 6.24% and a net margin of 11.43%.The business had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $3.39 earnings per share. Synopsys’s revenue for the quarter was up 42.4% on a year-over-year basis. Synopsys has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.160 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 15.040-15.100 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that Synopsys, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current year.

Synopsys declared that its board has initiated a stock repurchase program on Monday, October 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to purchase up to 1.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback programs are generally an indication that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synopsys

In related news, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 14,604 shares of Synopsys stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 15th. The shares were sold at an average price of $374.88, for a total value of $5,474,747.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,865 shares in the company, valued at $28,815,151.20. This trade represents a 15.97% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Janet Lee sold 1,144 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $502.52, for a total transaction of $574,882.88. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 16,534 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,308,665.68. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 102,559 shares of company stock worth $44,607,141 in the last quarter. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

SNPS has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. KeyCorp raised their price objective on shares of Synopsys from $600.00 to $605.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Synopsys from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 1st. Zacks Research raised Synopsys from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Piper Sandler upgraded Synopsys from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $450.00 to $550.00 in a research report on Tuesday, June 23rd. Finally, Benchmark reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $570.00 price target on shares of Synopsys in a report on Thursday, August 27th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Synopsys currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $584.11.

Synopsys Profile

Synopsys, Inc is a technology company that develops electronic design automation (EDA) software, semiconductor intellectual property (IP), and software tools used to design, verify, and manufacture advanced electronic systems. Its solutions support the development of semiconductors, systems-on-chip, and electronic products across the design cycle, from initial specification and architecture through testing and production.

The company’s offerings include digital and custom integrated-circuit design tools, simulation and verification software, physical design and signoff products, and semiconductor IP such as processor cores, interface technologies, and foundational components.