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Ansys (ANSS) Reportedly Gets Takeover Offer From Synopsys

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Ansys (ANSS - Free Report) has received a takeover bid from Synopsys (SNPS - Free Report) , per a report from The Wall Street Journal. Citing sources familiar with the matter, WSJ added that the deal could be announced in early 2024 if talks do not fall apart.

Synopsys is a vendor of electronic design automation (EDA) software for the semiconductor and electronics industries. The company offers a full suite of products used in logic synthesis and functional verification phases of chip design, including a broad array of reusable design building blocks. It also sells physical synthesis and physical design products, as well as physical verification products.

Earlier, Bloomberg reported that Ansys was exploring strategic options, including a possible sale amid takeover interest, but had not mentioned the prospective buyers.

ANSYS, Inc. Price and Consensus

ANSYS, Inc. Price and Consensus

ANSYS, Inc. price-consensus-chart | ANSYS, Inc. Quote

There is no official comment on the matter from either of the companies. Following the news, shares of ANSS soared 18.1% on Dec 22, 2023, and closed the session at $357.98 per share, while shares of SNPS lost 6.3%.

The deal will give rise to a giant in the EDA software space as ANSS and SNPS have a market capitalization of $79.7 billion and $31 billion, respectively.

Canonsburg, PA-based Ansys is a dominant name in the high-end design simulation software market. The company’s software solutions are used by most of the well-known manufacturing companies. Virtual prototyping instead of physical prototyping helps these companies save a considerable amount of money. ANSS’ robust product portfolio and cross-domain offering will continue to drive the customer base going ahead.

Ansys is gaining from strong demand across most of the sectors. In the automotive sector, higher demand for electric vehicles and advanced driver assistance systems or ADAS solutions is driving growth. It is likely to benefit from rapid growth in the high-tech industry, led by ongoing development in artificial intelligence and machine learning.

Aggressive acquisition strategy has also played a pivotal part in developing its business in the last few years.

However, Ansys’ third-quarter performance was affected by restrictions on exports to China. Management highlighted that these new restrictions are likely to elongate transaction cycles, causing delays in the closing of certain deals in the fourth quarter. As a result, management now projects non-GAAP revenues in the range of $2,234-$2,284 million compared with the earlier prediction of $2,257-$2,327 million. We expect the metric to be $2.25 billion, suggesting 8.8% growth year over year.

ANSS currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).

Stocks to Consider

Some better-ranked stocks worth consideration in the broader technology space are Blackbaud (BLKB - Free Report) and Watts Water Technologies (WTS - Free Report) . Watts Water Technologies sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), while Blackbaud carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank stocks here.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Blackbaud’s 2023 EPS has inched up 1.8% in the past 60 days to $3.86. BLKB’s long-term earnings growth rate is 23.4%.

Blackbaud’s earnings beat the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 10.6%. Shares of BLKB have gained 49% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Watts Water Technologies 2023 EPS has improved 3.9% in the past 60 days to $8.08.

WTS’ earnings surpassed the Zacks Consensus Estimate in each of the last four quarters, the average surprise being 11.8%. Shares of WTS have rallied 42.5% in the past year.

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