Cognizant Technology Solutions Sees Unusually High Options Volume (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation (NASDAQ:CTSH) saw unusually large options trading on Wednesday. Stock investors bought 10,781 call options on the stock. This is an increase of approximately 130% compared to the average daily volume of 4,682 call options.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock traded up $0.97 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, hitting $69.15. 2,740,752 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 7,941,768. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $60.83 and a 200 day moving average of $54.50. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a 52-week low of $37.08 and a 52-week high of $87.03. The company has a market cap of $31.15 billion, a PE ratio of 14.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 1.25 and a beta of 0.86. The company has a quick ratio of 2.18, a current ratio of 2.18 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.11.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 29th. The information technology service provider reported $1.37 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by ($0.01). Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.26% and a return on equity of 17.70%. The company had revenue of $5.48 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.48 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.31 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 4.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Cognizant Technology Solutions has set its FY 2026 guidance at 5.700-5.820 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 5.74 earnings per share for the current year.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, August 25th. Shareholders of record on Tuesday, August 18th were paid a dividend of $0.33 per share. This represents a $1.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, August 18th. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 28.39%.

Institutional Trading of Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Pzena Investment Management LLC lifted its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 14.9% in the first quarter. Pzena Investment Management LLC now owns 20,262,362 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $1,243,096,000 after acquiring an additional 2,633,683 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 3.6% in the 1st quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 6,404,918 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $392,947,000 after acquiring an additional 222,819 shares during the period. Amundi raised its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 9.2% in the 1st quarter. Amundi now owns 6,177,881 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $379,013,000 after purchasing an additional 520,532 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 27.2% during the 1st quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 3,471,681 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $213,004,000 after purchasing an additional 742,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Artemis Investment Management LLP increased its position in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 289.6% in the 3rd quarter. Artemis Investment Management LLP now owns 2,905,584 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $166,897,000 after acquiring an additional 2,159,704 shares during the period. 92.44% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

CTSH has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Robert W. Baird set a $68.00 price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Morgan Stanley restated a “negative” rating and issued a $51.00 price target (up from $44.00) on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Monday. Wedbush restated an “outperform” rating and set a $70.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $74.00 to $55.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, thirteen have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus target price of $64.70.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation is a global information technology services and consulting company that helps organizations modernize their technology infrastructure, operations and customer experiences. The company serves businesses across industries including financial services, healthcare, life sciences, manufacturing, retail and communications.

Cognizant’s services include consulting, application development and modernization, cloud computing, data and artificial intelligence, digital engineering, cybersecurity and business process services.