Cadence Design Systems, Inc. $CDNS Shares Sold by Pitcairn Co.

Pitcairn Co. cut its stake in Cadence Design Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CDNS) by 31.8% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 8,868 shares of the software maker’s stock after selling 4,142 shares during the period. Pitcairn Co.’s holdings in Cadence Design Systems were worth $3,115,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Cadence Design Systems by 1.2% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 26,923,317 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $9,457,084,000 after purchasing an additional 327,456 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Cadence Design Systems by 1.4% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 12,318,585 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $3,795,972,000 after buying an additional 172,551 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Cadence Design Systems by 1.2% during the second quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 6,363,734 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,952,771,000 after buying an additional 77,478 shares in the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in Cadence Design Systems by 16.0% during the third quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,314,407 shares of the software maker’s stock valued at $1,866,739,000 after buying an additional 731,788 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Cadence Design Systems in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $1,190,618,000. 84.85% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO John M. Wall sold 27,805 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, December 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $318.57, for a total value of $8,857,838.85. Following the sale, the chief financial officer directly owned 69,957 shares in the company, valued at $22,286,201.49. This trade represents a 28.44% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Ita M. Brennan sold 180 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, December 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $337.48, for a total value of $60,746.40. Following the transaction, the director owned 7,650 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,581,722. This trade represents a 2.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 36,480 shares of company stock valued at $11,692,189. 1.99% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently issued reports on CDNS. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Monday, December 29th. Needham & Company LLC reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $390.00 target price on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Wednesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $395.00 price target on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. Rosenblatt Securities reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $360.00 price objective on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research report on Thursday, February 26th. Finally, Citigroup assumed coverage on shares of Cadence Design Systems in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $385.00 price objective on the stock. Fifteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $376.50.

Key Stories Impacting Cadence Design Systems

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

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat on both revenue and EPS and Stifel reiterated a Buy with a $395 target — supports the bullish case on Cadence’s AI/EDA positioning. Cadence Q4 beat & Stifel note
• Positive Sentiment: Large institutional accumulation reported (Norges Bank, J. Stern, Wellington, etc.), which underpins demand and can support higher multiples over time. Institutional ownership update
• Positive Sentiment: Director Moshe Gavrielov made a small open‑market purchase (54 shares at ~$256.95), a modest insider buy that is a positive sentiment signal. SEC filing — Moshe Gavrielov purchase
• Neutral Sentiment: Management presented at the Morgan Stanley TMT conference — useful detail on strategy and AI roadmap but unlikely to move the stock absent new material disclosures. Morgan Stanley presentation transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Market pieces noted CDNS “outperformed” intraday after earnings — reflects short‑term reaction rather than a durable change. Zacks intraday note
• Neutral Sentiment: Reported short‑interest shows “0” shares / 0.0 days to cover — this appears to be a data/reporting error and should not be treated as a market signal.
• Negative Sentiment: Insider selling: VP Paul Cunningham sold 1,000 shares (~$297.78 avg). While small relative to his total holdings, the sale can increase near‑term supply and feed profit‑taking narratives. SEC filing — Paul Cunningham sale
• Negative Sentiment: Additional small director sales (Dec/Jan) add to the insider‑activity story investors watch and can weigh on sentiment when the stock has already run up. SEC filings — director trades

Cadence Design Systems Stock Down 1.8%

CDNS stock opened at $299.84 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $81.75 billion, a PE ratio of 73.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.65 and a beta of 1.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $304.50 and its 200 day simple moving average is $324.57. Cadence Design Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $221.56 and a fifty-two week high of $376.45. The company has a quick ratio of 2.67, a current ratio of 2.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.45.

Cadence Design Systems (NASDAQ:CDNS) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 17th. The software maker reported $1.99 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.91 by $0.08. Cadence Design Systems had a net margin of 20.93% and a return on equity of 29.34%. The firm had revenue of $1.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.42 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.88 EPS. Cadence Design Systems’s quarterly revenue was up 6.2% on a year-over-year basis. 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. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Cadence Design Systems, Inc. will post 5.41 EPS for the current year.

Cadence Design Systems 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.