Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) Shares Gap Up Following Analyst Upgrade

Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) gapped up prior to trading on Friday after Roth Capital upgraded the stock to a buy rating. The stock had previously closed at $424.91, but opened at $445.01. Synopsys shares last traded at $432.4370, with a volume of 369,301 shares changing hands.

SNPS has been the topic of several other reports. Zacks Research downgraded Synopsys from a “strong-buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, August 21st. Morgan Stanley reduced their price target on shares of Synopsys from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, August 19th. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Synopsys from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $420.00 price objective on the stock in a research report on Thursday. Mizuho decreased their target price on shares of Synopsys from $600.00 to $550.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Synopsys in a research note on Friday. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, four have assigned a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $574.61.

Insider Activity

In related news, insider Aart de Geus sold 24,641 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $419.44, for a total transaction of $10,335,421.04. Following the sale, the insider directly owned 120,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,518,611.92. This trade represents a 16.98% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 14,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, September 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $374.88, for a total value of $5,474,747.52. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 76,865 shares in the company, valued at $28,815,151.20. This trade represents a 15.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 89,245 shares of company stock worth $37,992,919. Company insiders own 0.56% of the company’s stock.

Trending Headlines about Synopsys

Here are the key news stories impacting Synopsys this week:

• Positive Sentiment: BNP Paribas upgraded SNPS to “Neutral” from “Underperform,” helping shares rise. The firm cited potential for Synopsys’ investor day to act as a positive catalyst, although its $420 price target is slightly below the current price. Synopsys Shares Rise After BNP Paribas Upgrade
• Positive Sentiment: Synopsys and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company are expanding collaboration on AI and high-performance computing chip development. The agreement covers TSMC’s A14 process, agentic AI design workflows, CoWoS multi-die packaging, co-packaged optics, PCIe 7.0 and HBM4 IP—supporting long-term demand for Synopsys’ electronic design automation and semiconductor IP products. Synopsys and TSMC Partner to Accelerate AI Systems Innovation
• Positive Sentiment: Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, while a separate market commentary highlights SNPS for strong sales growth, cash flow and valuation metrics despite rising interest-rate concerns. Synopsys Receives Consensus Rating of Moderate Buy
• Neutral Sentiment: Discussion of how much investors could make if Synopsys rebounds reflects potential upside, but it is speculative rather than a new business or earnings catalyst. How Much Could Synopsys Stock Rebound
• Negative Sentiment: Cadence’s new AI-powered RTL Generation Agent reportedly reduced chip area and power in early testing, highlighting competitive pressure in automated chip-design tools and potentially challenging Synopsys’ growth outlook. Cadence’s New RTL Generation Agent

Institutional Trading of Synopsys

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of SNPS. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Synopsys in the second quarter worth about $7,228,099,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in Synopsys by 0.3% during 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 purchasing an additional 28,532 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Synopsys by 1.3% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 4,310,846 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock valued at $2,017,256,000 after purchasing an additional 54,329 shares in the last quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in shares of Synopsys by 19.7% in the second quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 3,457,249 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock worth $1,542,175,000 after buying an additional 569,687 shares during the last quarter. Finally, UBS AM a distinct business unit of UBS ASSET MANAGEMENT AMERICAS LLC increased its position in shares of Synopsys by 40.7% in the 2nd 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 purchasing an additional 892,736 shares during the last quarter. 85.47% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Synopsys Price Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 1.24, a current ratio of 1.34 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The stock has a market cap of $82.95 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.47, a PEG ratio of 2.24 and a beta of 1.23. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $400.07 and a 200-day simple moving average of $435.68.

Synopsys (NASDAQ:SNPS) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, August 26th. The semiconductor company reported $3.91 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.44 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 42.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Synopsys has set its Q4 2026 guidance at 4.100-4.160 EPS and its FY 2026 guidance at 15.040-15.100 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Synopsys, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

About Synopsys

Synopsys, Inc is a technology company that develops electronic design automation (EDA) software, semiconductor intellectual property (IP), and related services. Its products help semiconductor and electronics companies design, verify, test and manufacture integrated circuits and complex electronic systems.

The company’s EDA portfolio includes tools for digital and analog design, simulation, verification, physical implementation, signoff and manufacturing preparation. Synopsys also provides reusable semiconductor IP, including processor cores, interface technologies, embedded memories and security-related components, which customers can incorporate into system-on-chip designs.

Synopsys additionally offers software integrity and application security solutions that help organizations identify and manage vulnerabilities and risks in the software development lifecycle.