Synopsys Inc.  (SNPS) Trade Now »     Rate SNPS  -  Discuss SNPS  -  Add to Watch List        

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Synopsys (SNPS) shares are sharply lower this afternoon on a disappointing financial outlook.

The company, which sells EDA software to the chip industry, posted revenue for its fiscal fourth quarter ended October 31 of $338.3 million, a hair below the Street at $339.4 million; non-GAAP EPS of 33 cents beat the Street by a penny.

The issue for the stock is the guidance.

Standard & Poor’s equity analyst Jim Yin today cut his rating on EDA software provider Synopsys (SNPS) from Sell from Hold, trimming his price target by a buck to $21.

“Although the economy is improving, we think the recovery will be gradual,” he writes. “We are concerned about weak consumer spending, especially for electronic devices this Christmas shopping season. We believe IT spending in the semiconductor industry will be muted in the first half of 2010, because part of the sequential growth in that industry is driven by inventory restocking.”