Morgan Stanley Raises Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target to $85.00

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $85.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “equal weight” rating on the information technology service provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.39% from the company’s previous close.

CTSH has been the subject of a number of other reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $88.00 to $94.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday. Barclays upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the company from $80.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 17th. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $78.00 to $80.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 31st. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft increased their price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $70.00 to $80.00 and gave the company a “hold” rating in a research report on Tuesday, October 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen boosted their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $75.00 to $76.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and five have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $83.22.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Trading Down 1.0 %

CTSH stock opened at $86.20 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization 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 company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.08, a current ratio of 2.23 and a quick ratio of 2.23. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 1-year low of $63.79 and a 1-year high of $87.61. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $79.44 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $77.52.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 5th. The information technology service provider reported $1.21 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.66 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 5,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.11, for a total transaction of $400,550.00. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 39,022 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,126,052.42. This trade represents a 11.36 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Addison Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 127.7% in the 3rd quarter. Addison Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 189 shares during the period. Duncker Streett & Co. Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Ashton Thomas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Cognizant Technology Solutions in the third quarter worth about $30,000. Trust Co. of Vermont grew its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 188.4% during the 4th quarter. Trust Co. of Vermont now owns 447 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $34,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 47.4% during the 3rd quarter. Pinnacle Bancorp Inc. now owns 454 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $35,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

About Cognizant Technology Solutions

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.