The Goldman Sachs Group Reaffirms Neutral Rating for Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH)‘s stock had its “neutral” rating reaffirmed by stock analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $76.00 price objective on the information technology service provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s price target would indicate a potential downside of 1.57% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Mizuho reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $82.00 price objective on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Tuesday, June 11th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Cognizant Technology Solutions from $81.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, August 28th. Bank of America upgraded shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions from an “underperform” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $73.00 to $75.00 in a research note on Wednesday, August 7th. Jefferies Financial Group started coverage on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. They set a “buy” rating and a $90.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Needham & Company LLC reaffirmed a “hold” rating on shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in a research note on Wednesday, August 28th. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, seventeen have given a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $77.44.

Cognizant Technology Solutions Stock Performance

Shares of CTSH stock opened at $77.21 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.04, a current ratio of 2.46 and a quick ratio of 2.46. Cognizant Technology Solutions has a one year low of $62.14 and a one year high of $80.27. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $74.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $71.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.27 billion, a PE ratio of 18.56, a PEG ratio of 2.14 and a beta of 1.05.

Cognizant Technology Solutions (NASDAQ:CTSH) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 31st. The information technology service provider reported $1.17 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.12 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.80 billion. Cognizant Technology Solutions had a net margin of 11.39% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Cognizant Technology Solutions’s revenue for the quarter was down .7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.10 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts forecast that Cognizant Technology Solutions will post 4.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Cognizant Technology Solutions news, CEO Ravi Kumar Singisetti sold 6,728 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $73.66, for a total transaction of $495,584.48. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 46,427 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,419,812.82. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.26% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Cognizant Technology Solutions

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of CTSH. 1620 Investment Advisors Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the second quarter valued at approximately $25,000. LRI Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 1st quarter valued at $28,000. Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions by 42.1% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 533 shares of the information technology service provider’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 158 shares during the last quarter. Neo Ivy Capital Management bought a new stake in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions during the 4th quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Unique Wealth Strategies LLC purchased a new position in shares of Cognizant Technology Solutions in the 2nd quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other 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.