Gradient Investments LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Synopsys, Inc. $SNPS

Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Synopsys, Inc. (NASDAQ:SNPS) by 15.7% during the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 48,856 shares of the semiconductor company’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,626 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Synopsys were worth $21,249,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in SNPS. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Synopsys in the second quarter valued at $7,228,099,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Synopsys during the second quarter valued at about $747,400,000. Bank of New York Mellon Corp purchased a new position in shares of Synopsys during the second quarter valued at about $692,074,000. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Synopsys in the second quarter worth about $539,986,000. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc bought a new position in Synopsys in the second quarter worth about $491,923,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 85.47% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

SNPS has been the topic of several research reports. Morgan Stanley cut their price objective on Synopsys from $525.00 to $500.00 and set an “equal weight” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, August 19th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their target price on Synopsys from $475.00 to $540.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 1st. BNP Paribas Exane upgraded Synopsys from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and set a $420.00 price objective for the company in a report on Thursday, September 24th. UBS Group set a $570.00 target price on shares of Synopsys in a report on Thursday, August 27th. Finally, Robert W. Baird upgraded shares of Synopsys from a “neutral” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $558.00 to $560.00 in a research note on Thursday, August 27th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have given a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Synopsys currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $584.11.

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.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, CEO Sassine Ghazi sold 14,604 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction 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 completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 76,865 shares in the company, valued at $28,815,151.20. The trade was a 15.97% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Also, insider Aart de Geus sold 24,641 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, September 1st. The shares were sold at an average price of $419.44, for a total value of $10,335,421.04. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 120,443 shares in the company, valued at approximately $50,518,611.92. The trade was a 16.98% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. The transaction was executed under a pre-arranged Rule 10b5-1 trading plan. Insiders sold a total of 102,559 shares of company stock worth $44,607,141 in the last 90 days. 0.56% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Synopsys Stock Down 0.1%

NASDAQ:SNPS traded down $0.59 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 price-to-earnings ratio of 88.67, a PEG ratio of 2.06 and a beta of 1.21. The company has a current ratio of 1.34, a quick ratio of 1.24 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. Synopsys, Inc. has a 12 month low of $362.55 and a 12 month high of $539.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $415.01 and its 200 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 net margin of 11.43% and a return on equity of 6.24%. The firm had revenue of $2.48 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.44 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $3.39 earnings per share. The business’s revenue 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 analysts predict that Synopsys, Inc. will post 10.97 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Synopsys declared that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Monday, October 5th that authorizes the company to buyback $1.00 billion in outstanding shares. This buyback authorization authorizes the semiconductor company to buy up to 1.1% of its stock through open market purchases. Stock buyback plans are usually an indication that the company’s leadership believes its shares are undervalued.

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.