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On Wednesday, Rosenblatt analyst Blair Abernethy updated Cadence Designs (NASDAQ:CDNS) stock price target to $295 from the previous $280 while maintaining a Neutral rating on the shares. The adjustment follows Cadence’s fourth-quarter earnings report, which was released on Tuesday and showed that the company’s revenue for the quarter reached $1.356 billion. This figure represents a roughly 27% year-over-year increase and slightly exceeds both Rosenblatt’s forecast of $1.347 billion and the consensus estimate of $1.346 billion. According to InvestingPro data, Cadence maintains impressive gross profit margins of 86.05% and demonstrates good overall financial health, with a comprehensive score of 2.91 out of 5.
The revenue growth was attributed to several factors, including a strong verification hardware cycle, expansion in the Systems business, which includes BETA CAE (NYSE:CAE), and consistent intellectual property (IP) sales, which accounted for 13% of total revenue. Analysts noted that the adoption of AI product SKUs is contributing to Cadence’s core Electronic Design Automation (EDA) growth. Additionally, IP sales to systems customers working on AI and specialty chips remain strong. With a market capitalization of $82.27 billion, Cadence currently trades at relatively high multiples, suggesting investors are pricing in continued growth expectations. For deeper insights into Cadence’s valuation and growth prospects, InvestingPro subscribers can access the comprehensive Pro Research Report, which includes detailed analysis of the company’s competitive position and growth drivers.
In January, Cadence announced its acquisition of Secure-IC, which is anticipated to enhance its portfolio with an embedded security IP platform targeting the automotive, aerospace and defense, and data center markets. The Q4 revenue mix improved, with up-front revenue (chiefly from hardware and IP) increasing to 26% of total revenue, up from 11% in the first half of the year.
Despite the positive performance, the forecast for Cadence has been slightly reduced due to a perceived weakness in the Chinese market, where no growth is expected for 2025. Revenue from China remained stable at 13% in Q4, matching the previous quarter, but represented a decrease from 17% in the full year 2023. Based on InvestingPro’s Fair Value analysis, the stock appears to be trading above its intrinsic value, though the company maintains strong fundamentals with a healthy current ratio of 2.93 and sustained revenue growth of 13.48% over the last twelve months.
The reported backlog at the end of the fourth quarter was $6.8 billion, up from $5.6 billion in the third quarter, providing Cadence with strong visibility into the first half of 2025. The higher revenue and favorable mix in Q4 also resulted in margins that were slightly better than expected, coming in at 46.0% compared to the 45.7% estimate. The revised price target reflects the updated valuation rolled into fiscal year 2026.
In other recent news, Cadence Design Systems reported its fourth-quarter 2024 earnings, exceeding analyst expectations with an earnings per share (EPS) of $1.88, surpassing the forecasted $1.82. The company’s revenue also surpassed projections, reaching $1.356 billion compared to the anticipated $1.35 billion. For the full year 2024, Cadence reported a 13.5% revenue growth, highlighting the strong performance of its AI-powered products. Additionally, the company provided a revenue guidance for 2025 ranging from $5.140 billion to $5.220 billion, with a non-GAAP EPS guidance of $6.65 to $6.75. Analysts from firms such as KeyBanc and Wells Fargo (NYSE:WFC) have discussed Cadence’s cautious outlook on its China market revenue, which is expected to remain flat. The company has also been expanding its partnerships, notably with NVIDIA (NASDAQ:NVDA) and Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM), to enhance its EDA and AI-driven product portfolio. As Cadence continues to focus on AI-driven growth, its strategic partnerships and product innovations remain a focal point for investors.
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