The Screen · Technology · Information Technology Services
Cognizant
CTSH · a US exchange · USD · Market cap $29.3B · 357,600 employees
Cognizant Technology Solutions Corporation, a professional services company, provides consulting and technology, and outsourcing services in North America, Europe, and internationally.
Screened 2026-08-21 · the tape above runs as of 16:37 UTC · 29 Aug · two dates, stated on purpose · verdict and workings shown in full · never trimmed
The Label · The Season, Not the Day
This name holds its markup label.
Cognizant holds its Markup at $61.87. The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 16 days.
As held on the ledger · 2026-08-21
Phase
Markup
Quantitative state
The statistical read favours the sellers, held for 16 days
Price at the screen
$61.87
Valuation
13.28 trailing · 9.80 forward price to earnings
Values screen
PASS· score 88.8
Beta
0.81
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.
What the Numbers Say It Is Worth
The Fair Value Range
Our framework reads OPPORTUNITY: it trades at roughly a 31% discount to our $81.25 fair value, moderate competitive moat, 4.50% revenue growth.
Fair value range in USD, drawn from the 2026-08-21 screen. The gold marker is the market price at the same screen. A 31.3% margin of safety to the base estimate.
Third-party analyst targets: 25 covering, consensus Buy. The average target sits +5% from the screen price.
Reading the gap · Both our model and the analysts see meaningful upside from here.
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 2026-08-21 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
2026-08-26Markup · 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
The framework 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
The framework 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
The framework 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.
2026-07-02Distribution$53.21Entry 1
The framework reads distribution. Smart money appears to be selling into strength. Institutional holders may be rotating out. 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.
