JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) Price Target to $74.00

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) had its target price cut by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $81.00 to $74.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the information technology service provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target points to a potential upside of 11.70% from the company’s previous close.

Several other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “peer perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 4th. Wedbush reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $85.00 price target on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research report on Thursday. Jefferies Financial Group upgraded Cognizant Technology Solutions from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $70.00 to $85.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 11th. Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Thursday. Finally, Mizuho began coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a report on Tuesday, January 30th. They set a “neutral” rating and a $82.00 price target on the stock. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, fourteen have assigned a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $75.63.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Price Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $66.25 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $32.98 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 15.93, a P/E/G ratio of 1.49 and a beta of 1.08. The company has a current ratio of 2.25, a quick ratio of 2.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.05. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a twelve month low of $60.26 and a twelve month high of $80.09. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $72.58 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $72.47.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, May 1st. The information technology service provider reported $1.12 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.11 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $4.76 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.72 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 10.84% and a return on equity of 17.64%. The company’s revenue was down 1.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.11 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.59 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, EVP Kathryn Diaz sold 900 shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions stock in a transaction on Tuesday, March 12th. The shares were sold at an average price of $77.06, for a total transaction of $69,354.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president now directly owns 8,312 shares in the company, valued at approximately $640,522.72. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. IFG Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 45.1% in the fourth quarter. IFG Advisory LLC now owns 67,119 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $5,070,000 after buying an additional 20,874 shares in the last quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd lifted its holdings in Cognizant Technology Solutions by 36.0% in the third quarter. Qube Research & Technologies Ltd now owns 1,227,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $83,145,000 after acquiring an additional 324,638 shares during the period. PGGM Investments boosted its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 53.8% during the 3rd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 74,411 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $5,041,000 after purchasing an additional 26,035 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. grew its stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 110.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 1,344,587 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock worth $91,082,000 after purchasing an additional 704,932 shares during the period. Finally, Perigon Wealth Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 4.4% in the 4th quarter. Perigon Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,743 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $358,000 after purchasing an additional 199 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 92.44% of the company’s stock.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Company Profile

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.