StockNews.com Upgrades Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) to Buy

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

CTSH has been the subject of a number of other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $82.00 to $93.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays raised Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and upped their price target for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 17th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lifted their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a research note on Tuesday, October 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $80.00 to $85.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Cognizant Technology Solutions presently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $86.20 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 2.23, a current ratio of 2.23 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 12 month low of $63.79 and a 12 month high of $87.61. The firm has a market cap of $42.74 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 19.07, a PEG ratio of 2.21 and a beta of 1.07. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $79.44 and a 200 day moving average price of $77.52.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.12 by $0.09. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.60% and a return on equity of 17.08%. Research analysts expect that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Cognizant Technology Solutions

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares in the company, valued at $3,126,052.42. This represents a 11.36 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.26% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 76.3% during the 4th quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 15,037 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $1,156,000 after purchasing an additional 6,510 shares during the last quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 12.6% in the fourth quarter. Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI now owns 3,011 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $232,000 after buying an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Independent Advisor Alliance acquired a new position in Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter worth $328,000. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 5.9% during the fourth quarter. Daiwa Securities Group Inc. now owns 107,396 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $8,259,000 after acquiring an additional 5,976 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Simplicity Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at $221,000. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

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.