Cognizant trims Wall Street expectations, shares stay under analyst pressure

By Anna Wagner, Analysts & Consensus desk. Reviewed prior to publication on 2026-06-27, 09:03.

Cognizant (US1924461023) sits in focus on NASDAQ as recent analyst moves have turned more cautious. Morgan Stanley and TD Cowen have both cut their price targets on the shares in June, signaling muted expectations for the IT services group.

Morgan Stanley cuts target to 44 dollars

On June 23, Morgan Stanley reduced its price target for Cognizant to 44 US dollars from 63 dollars while reiterating an Equal Weight rating, according to a Morgan Stanley-based report on Yahoo Finance. The revised target still implies a modest upside of around 4 percent from the referenced trading level.

The bank highlights Cognizant’s annual dividend yield of roughly 3.4 percent as a support for total shareholder return, but balances this with concerns about growth and competitiveness against peers such as Accenture and Infosys in higher-value digital and AI services.

TD Cowen also lowers its view

TD Cowen has similarly turned more cautious and recently cut its price target for Cognizant shares to 47 US dollars from 62 dollars, while keeping a Hold stance, as summarized in an overview citing NASDAQ data on Intellectia.ai about the stock’s underperformance in the Nasdaq 100. The house cites limited near-term catalysts for a re-rating.

In that context Cognizant has underperformed the Nasdaq 100 in recent trading, reflecting investor caution toward traditional outsourcing and consulting models as cloud-native competitors and large-cap peers push aggressively into AI and automation offerings.

How Cognizant earns its money

Cognizant generates most of its revenue from IT services including consulting, application development, outsourcing and business process services for clients in sectors such as financial services, healthcare, manufacturing and communications. The group positions itself as an “AI builder”, helping enterprises turn AI investments into operational value.

Where the shares trade today

The Cognizant shares (US1924461023) trade on NASDAQ in New York; the latest live-verified price and market capitalization are available on the exchange and major financial data platforms.

This text is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice, an offer, or a solicitation to buy or sell any securities. Historical performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.