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The Screen · Technology · Information Technology Services
Cognizant
CTSH · a US exchange · USD · Market cap $31.2B · 357,600 employees
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally.
Positioning political buying, disclosed 2026-09-25
Options put/call open interest 0.75, read 2026-10-23
Ethical passes the values gate
Price66.03 USD
Fair value82.50
Ethical score88.8/100
RatingOPPORTUNITY
Our investment reviews on this name
2026-10-11Read Markup56.75+16.4% to today ✓Distribution gives way to Markup first Markup read since August
2026-10-02Read Distribution56.75+16.4% to today Markup gives way to Distribution after an 8% slide in 5 weeks
2026-08-26Read Markup61.87+6.7% to today ✓Distribution gives way to Markup after a 16% rise in 8 weeks
2026-07-02Read Distribution53.21+24.1% to today First review on file: Distribution
Our analytic regime reads on this name, dated and marked against the screened price. Small sample per name, and separate from the daily-framework accuracy on the Track Record page.
Cognizant holds its Markup at $66.03. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 122 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-10-16
Phase
Markup
Quantitative state
The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 122 days
Price at the screen
$66.03
Valuation
14.20 trailing · 10.42 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS· score 88.8
Beta
0.85
The Workings
Five Screens, Shown in Full
Full pass across all five screens. This security clears the Titan Ethical Standard: its business and its balance sheet both stay inside the lines.
Test
Figure
Limit
What it means
Status
Business activity
Permissible
Core business clean
Its core business isn't built on prohibited lines: no gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, or interest-based lending.
Pass
Debt load
5.57%
Below 33%
Interest-bearing debt is just 5.6% of its assets, well under the one-third ceiling: it does not run on borrowed money.
Pass
Interest-bearing cash
0.54%
Below 33%
Cash held in interest-bearing accounts and securities is 0.5% of assets, under the one-third limit.
Pass
Receivables
30.64%
Below 49%
Money owed to the company is 30.6% of assets, under the 49% limit.
Pass
Revenue purity
0.50%
Below 5%
Only 0.5% of revenue comes from non-compliant sources, under the 5% line.
Pass
Five checks adapted from AAOIFI screening standards: business activity plus four balance-sheet ratios. All five must pass for ethical clearance. Every figure is arithmetic on public accounts, not judgement.
The Ethical Read
Why It Clears, in Plain English
Cognizant clears all five screens. Its business is in a permissible area, its interest-bearing debt is about 6%, inside the ~33% line, and almost none of its income is interest, so it passes.
Read as at 2026-10-24. It updates when the underlying figures move, and past reads are kept below.
Follow this verdict
Get an email when CTSH's ethical verdict changes
Today CTSH passes the screen. If new figures move it to a fail, we send you one short email with the before and after. Verdicts change rarely, so you may not hear from us for a long time.
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What the Numbers Say It Is Worth
The Fair Value Range
Our analysis reads OPPORTUNITY: it trades at roughly a 25% discount to our $82.50 fair value, moderate competitive moat, 4.50% revenue growth.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-10-16 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 24.9% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 25 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits −0% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Our model sees value the Street hasn't fully caught up to yet.
Price History & Projections
Where it has been, where the models see it going. History from market close data; projection points are our fair-value estimates and third-party analyst targets, dated to the 2026-10-16 screen.
Fair value and rating are our own model estimates; the Street's range reflects third-party analyst estimates. Analysis, not advice.
The Business, in Plain Words
Quiet IT work at a deep discount
Picture a large bank or hospital that needs its ageing software kept running without drama. Cognizant supplies that unglamorous but essential service across financial, health and industrial clients. The shares sit at 44.77 dollars against a fair value of 81.25, an 82 percent margin of safety.
The business earns a moderate moat and clears the ethical screen. Forward earnings trade at just 7.2 times, revenue is expanding 6 percent, the profit margin holds at 10 percent and return on equity reaches 15 percent. Twenty-five analysts carry a buy consensus with a 65 dollar median target, yet the market still prices the stock as if growth has already vanished.
Client spending can slow sharply in any downturn and the moderate moat leaves room for bigger rivals to pinch work. Low multiples on steady but unspectacular numbers are not automatically cheap if earnings prove peaky. Analysis, not advice.
The risks · The main risks here are ordinary market swings and the chance our fair-value read proves too optimistic.
Plain-English interpretation of our own screen data. Analysis, not advice.
Where & How to Trade
CTSH trades on a US exchange. As a listed security it is accessible through almost any international broker offering its home market. New to this, or investing from abroad? Our guide to accessing global markets covers brokers, currencies and the practical steps.
The Dated Journal · Newest First, Never Edited
Every Entry, As Written
2026-10-24Markup$66.03+0.0%Entry 11
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading overbought. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $67. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-23Markup$66.03+0.0%Entry 10
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading overbought. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $67. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-22Markup$66.03+0.0%Entry 9
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it B, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is momentum reading overbought. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $67. It reported earnings in this window, a natural checkpoint for the thesis.
2026-10-18Markup$66.03+16.4%Entry 8
The analysis reads markup. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 16.4% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $66.
2026-10-11Markup · changed$56.75+0.0%Entry 7
The framework has shifted from distribution to markup since the last review. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it C, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $66.
The framework has shifted from markup to distribution since the last review. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 8.3% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $65.
2026-08-26Markup · changed$61.87+38.2%Entry 5
The framework has shifted from distribution to markup since the last review. Price is trending higher with momentum. The crowd has caught on and buyers are in control. Price has moved up 38.2% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows modest positive risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $64.
2026-07-25Distribution$44.77-15.9%Entry 4
Our analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 15.9% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $69.
2026-07-18Distribution$53.21+0.0%Entry 3
Our analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns. Our composite framework grades it D, carrying a low risk profile. Technically it is sitting below its long-term trend line with momentum reading neutral. Over the past year the shares are down 35%. Our forward projection puts the odds of a 10% gain over the next month near 12%. The street (25 analysts) rates it buy, with a mean price target of $69.
2026-07-03Distribution$53.21+0.0%Entry 2
Our analysis reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. Price has moved down 0.0% since our last review. Ethical screening: PASS with strong ethical credentials. The risk-adjusted return profile shows negative risk-adjusted returns.
Each entry above was written on its date, before the outcome. A journal you can prune is not a journal.
