CDNS Short Interest Jumps 34% Into Earnings

Short sellers sharply raised bets on Cadence as the EDA software provider prepares to report Monday. The stock has surged 17% in the past month despite mounting bearish pressure.

Short interest positioning

Short interest stood at 7.22 million shares as of April 23, representing 2.65% of the free float. That marks a 34% surge over the past month and a 2.9% gain in the last week. Days to cover remains modest at 2.89 days based on official FINRA data. Cost to borrow has eased to 0.29%, down 28% over the week. Utilization ticked up to 1.3%, still well below the 52-week high of 2.69%. The borrowing environment remains easy, but the sharp climb in shares short signals growing skepticism heading into the print.

Options market

The put/call ratio registered 1.14 on April 24, below the 20-day mean of 1.28. The reading carries a z-score of -1.27, indicating a tilt toward call buying relative to recent norms. The ratio sits in the middle of its 52-week range of 0.77 to 1.51. The options market shows net bullish positioning ahead of results.

Analyst activity

Analyst coverage data shows a mean price target of $371.53, implying 12% upside from the current $332.89. Needham's Charles Shi raised his target to $400 from $390 on April 20, maintaining a Buy rating. Rosenblatt's Blair Abernethy held his $360 Buy rating on April 24. Earlier in February, Wells Fargo cut to $375 from $410 and Piper Sandler trimmed to $319 from $355, both maintaining their prior ratings. Benzinga's bull case highlights a $7.8 billion backlog up 11.4% quarter-over-quarter, providing visibility for 67% of expected FY26 revenues. The bear case warns that long-term EDA growth is slowing to high single digits and IP growth to low teens, with market share losses posing significant risks.

Valuation & factor positioning

The stock trades at a PE of 37.6, up 3.5 points over the past month. Price-to-book reached 14.9, climbing 3.5 points in 30 days. EV/EBITDA sits at 27.6. On factor scores, CDNS ranks in the 90th percentile on 12-month forward EPS year-over-year increase and the 59th percentile on 30-day EPS momentum. Value scores are unavailable, but the elevated multiples reflect premium expectations.

Insider & institutional context

Insiders sold $21 million net over the past 90 days. CFO John Wall offloaded 21,500 shares at $309.45 on April 16 for $6.7 million. The largest holders—Vanguard, BlackRock, and State Street—collectively increased positions by nearly 1 million shares as of the March 31 filings. JP Morgan Asset Management added 680,000 shares, and Wellington Management boosted its stake by 1.75 million shares in February.

Historical context

Cadence last reported on February 17, with prior prints in October 2025. The stock has rallied 17% in the past month and 7% in the past week, hitting $332.89 on April 24.

Active signals

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