Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Given New $82.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its price target upped by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $80.00 to $82.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the information technology service provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 6.90% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other research firms have also recently commented on CTSH. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and set a $82.00 target price (up from $78.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Monday, December 8th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from $89.00 to $92.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 30th. BMO Capital Markets reissued a “market perform” rating and issued a $96.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday, January 29th. Guggenheim reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $100.00 target price (up from $95.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Wednesday, January 28th. Finally, William Blair upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, November 21st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and twelve have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $90.39.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CTSH opened at $76.71 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a quick ratio of 2.36 and a current ratio of 2.36. The company has a market capitalization of $37.02 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.43 and a beta of 0.95. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a fifty-two week low of $65.15 and a fifty-two week high of $90.82. The company’s 50-day moving average is $82.91 and its 200 day moving average is $74.99.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 4th. The information technology service provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.32 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $5.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.31 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a return on equity of 17.00% and a net margin of 10.20%.Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue was up 4.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.21 earnings per share. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.560-5.700 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.98 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CAO John Sunshin Kim sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $80.00, for a total transaction of $200,000.00. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 36,149 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,891,920. This represents a 6.47% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, insider Surya Gummadi sold 1,728 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $83.06, for a total transaction of $143,527.68. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 25,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,129,741.46. This trade represents a 6.31% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 29,434 shares of company stock valued at $2,460,809. Insiders own 0.32% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. Flagship Harbor Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 165.1% in the fourth quarter. Physician Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 342 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the period. Lodestone Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. NewSquare Capital LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 71.8% during the second quarter. NewSquare Capital LLC now owns 366 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the period. Finally, Towne Trust Company N.A boosted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 85.0% in the fourth quarter. Towne Trust Company N.A now owns 370 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 170 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

More Cognizant Technology Solutions News

Here are the key news stories impacting Cognizant Technology Solutions this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Q4 beat and upbeat 2026 guidance — Cognizant reported Q4 revenue of $5.33B and EPS $1.35, topping estimates, and raised FY2026 guidance (EPS 5.560–5.700) and revenue growth target to 4.0%–6.5%, which drove the favorable market reaction. Cognizant tops Q4 forecasts, rebounds on upbeat 2026 guidance
• Positive Sentiment: Record bookings & large AI deals — Trailing 12‑month bookings rose to $28.4B with 28 large deals in 2025, and management cited ~$500M “mega‑deals” and AI demand as key growth drivers supporting the outlook. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Highlights: Record Bookings
• Positive Sentiment: Capital returns & dividend raise — Cognizant plans $1.6B of shareholder returns in 2026 (including $1B in repurchases) and raised its quarterly dividend 6.5% to $0.33, a cash‑return signal that supports valuation. Cognizant Reports Fourth Quarter and Full-Year 2025 Results
• Neutral Sentiment: Updated Q1 / FY numbers — Management gave Q1 revenue guidance near $5.4B and reiterated FY revenue bands that modestly outpace street estimates; these reduce execution risk but leave room for scrutiny on margin/consensus alignment. Cognizant forecasts annual revenue above estimates
• Neutral Sentiment: Full earnings materials and transcript available — Investors can review the call transcript, slides and PR for detail on verticals and AI strategy to judge sustainability of bookings and margins. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Neutral Sentiment: Bull case writeups highlight valuation upside — Several bullish analyses surfaced noting attractive forward P/E and margin expansion potential; useful for investors doing conviction work but not market-moving by themselves. CTSH: A Bull Case Theory
• Negative Sentiment: Insider sale disclosed — Director/insider Surya Gummadi sold 1,728 shares at ~$83.06; the size is small relative to total holdings and buyback program but may be noted by some investors. SEC Filing: Insider Sale
• Neutral Sentiment: Short‑interest data is inconsistent — a reported “large increase” appears to contain erroneous zeros/NaN in the summary; no clear evidence of a material short build at this time.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ: CTSH) is a global professional services company that provides information technology, consulting and business process services to large enterprises. Its core offerings include digital engineering, application development and maintenance, cloud migration and managed services, data analytics and artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, and industry-specific solutions. Cognizant works with clients to design and implement technology-enabled transformations that address customer experience, operational efficiency and new product and service delivery.

Founded in the 1990s and headquartered in Teaneck, New Jersey, Cognizant has grown into a multinational organization with delivery centers and operations across the Americas, Europe, and Asia.