Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) Shares Gap Up on Strong Earnings

Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS)’s stock price gapped up prior to trading on Wednesday after the company announced better than expected quarterly earnings. The stock had previously closed at $283.46, but opened at $302.96. Cadence Design Systems shares last traded at $309.7170, with a volume of 1,871,822 shares.

The software maker reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.91 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $1.42 billion. Cadence Design Systems had a return on equity of 30.13% and a net margin of 20.35%.The firm’s revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.88 earnings per share. Cadence Design Systems has set its Q1 2026 guidance at 1.890-1.950 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 8.050-8.150 EPS.

Key Headlines Impacting Cadence Design Systems

Here are the key news stories impacting Cadence Design Systems this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Company beat Q4 estimates and raised guidance—Cadence reported Q4 revenue of ~$1.44B and EPS that beat expectations, and issued Q1 and FY?2026 EPS and revenue guidance that topped Street forecasts, which is the primary driver of today’s upside. Business Wire: Cadence Reports Fourth Quarter and Fiscal Year 2025 Financial Results
• Positive Sentiment: Analyst support — several firms revised forecasts or reaffirmed buy/overweight views after results (Needham reaffirmed buy with a $390 PT; Rosenblatt upgraded to buy with a $360 PT), which helps momentum and buy-side conviction. Benzinga: Analysts Revise Forecasts After Q4
• Neutral Sentiment: Mixed analyst moves — some firms trimmed price targets despite positive results (Morgan Stanley lowered its PT but stayed overweight; Piper Sandler cut its PT and maintained neutral), producing divergent signals for different investor types. The Fly: Morgan Stanley PT Change
• Neutral Sentiment: Trading context — intraday volume is below average and public short?interest data appear inconsistent; that can amplify price moves but also makes interpretation of flow signals harder. (No specific article)
• Negative Sentiment: Unusual put buying — a surge in put option purchases (8,675 contracts, +172% vs typical daily put volume) indicates some traders are hedging or speculating on a pullback despite the upbeat results.
• Negative Sentiment: Significant insider selling flagged in third?party data—recent disclosures show multiple insider sales over the past months, which some investors view as a cautionary signal. Quiver Quant: CDNS Stock Rises on Q4 Earnings (insider summary)

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on CDNS shares. Citigroup initiated coverage on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $385.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer raised Cadence Design Systems from an “underperform” rating to a “market perform” rating and set a $275.00 price target for the company in a research report on Monday, December 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on Cadence Design Systems from $390.00 to $405.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 28th. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price objective on Cadence Design Systems from $410.00 to $375.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Wolfe Research restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $385.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a report on Tuesday, October 28th. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Cadence Design Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $376.50.

Insider Transactions at Cadence Design Systems

In other Cadence Design Systems news, VP Paul Scannell sold 5,490 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $339.43, for a total value of $1,863,470.70. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 20,321 shares in the company, valued at $6,897,557.03. This trade represents a 21.27% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.48, for a total transaction of $60,746.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,650 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,581,722. The trade was a 2.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last three months, insiders have sold 56,475 shares of company stock worth $18,505,486. Insiders own 0.37% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cadence Design Systems

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position in Cadence Design Systems by 80.2% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $456,000 after purchasing an additional 676 shares during the period. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 3.8% during the 1st quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 2,203 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $560,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares during the period. Harbour Investments Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 17.8% during the 2nd quarter. Harbour Investments Inc. now owns 358 shares of the software maker’s stock worth $110,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares during the period. Mutual Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 6.5% during the 2nd quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 1,223 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $406,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Koshinski Asset Management Inc. bought a new stake in Cadence Design Systems in the second quarter valued at about $208,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.85% of the company’s stock.

Cadence Design Systems Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $84.26 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 1.01. The company has a quick ratio of 2.84, a current ratio of 3.05 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.48. The company’s 50-day moving average is $309.88 and its 200-day moving average is $328.89.

Cadence Design Systems Company Profile

Cadence Design Systems, Inc (NASDAQ: CDNS) is a global provider of electronic design automation (EDA) software, hardware and intellectual property used to design and verify advanced semiconductor chips, systems-on-chip (SoCs), printed circuit boards (PCBs) and packaging. Headquartered in San Jose, California and founded in 1988, Cadence serves semiconductor companies, original equipment manufacturers and system designers across the globe, helping customers accelerate design cycles and manage the complexity of modern integrated systems.

The company’s offerings span software tools for digital, custom/analog and mixed-signal design, verification and signoff, as well as solutions for system-level modeling, thermal and signal integrity analysis, and PCB and package design.