CDNS vs QUAL: Correlation
How closely do Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF (QUAL) trade together? Their weekly returns over three years give a correlation of 0.60, which is strong.
Data as of 2026-08-27 · refreshed every trading day · weekly returns · methodology
How correlated are CDNS and QUAL?
Over the past 3 years, CDNS and QUAL moved with a correlation of 0.60, which is strong. Little has changed lately, as the 1-year reading of 0.50 lands near the 3-year figure. Over 5 years the correlation is 0.65, and the annualized covariance of weekly returns is 297.9 %².
Within CDNS's tracked universe of 34 assets, QUAL comes in at #13 by 3-year correlation. Their recent paths diverged sharply: over the last 12 months QUAL outperformed by 19.5 percentage points (+0.2% for CDNS against +19.7% for QUAL). On a rolling one-year basis the correlation drifted between 0.40 and 0.81, a moderate band. Risk is not evenly split, since CDNS carries 2.6 times the volatility of the other side.
How is this computed?
Pearson correlation on weekly returns: ρ(A,B) = cov(rA, rB) / (σA · σB), over windows of 52, 156 and 260 weeks. Covariance is annualized (×52) and expressed in %². Full definitions on the methodology page.
CDNS vs QUAL: side by side
| CDNS (Cadence Design Systems) | QUAL (iShares MSCI USA Quality Factor ETF) | |
|---|---|---|
| 1-year return | +0.2% | +19.7% |
| 5-year return | +112.1% | +68.0% |
| Volatility (ann.) | 35.8% | 14.0% |
| Beta vs S&P 500 | 1.45 | 0.93 |
| Max drawdown (3Y) | -29.1% | -18.0% |
| Market cap | $95.7B | – |
| P/E (trailing) | 66.7 | – |
| Dividend yield | 0.00% | 0.86% |
| Expense ratio | – | 0.15% |
| Assets under management | – | $46.5B |
| Sector / category | Information Technology | ETF · US Style |
QUAL, iShares's Large Blend fund, carries $46.5B under management, 123 holdings, a 0.15% expense ratio, a 0.86% trailing dividend yield.
Year-by-year returns
| Year | CDNS | QUAL |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -13.8% | -20.5% |
| 2023 | +69.6% | +30.9% |
| 2024 | +10.3% | +22.3% |
| 2025 | +4.0% | +12.7% |
| 2026 | +11.2% | +13.5% |
Calendar-year price returns; the current year is year-to-date as of the data date above.
Fund exposure
A structural note: 0.55% of QUAL is CDNS itself, so the fund partly moves with the stock by construction.
Are CDNS and QUAL good diversifiers for each other?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.60 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
FAQ
What is the correlation between CDNS and QUAL?
As of 2026-08-27, the correlation of weekly returns between CDNS and QUAL is 0.60 over 3 years, 0.50 over 1 year and 0.65 over 5 years.
Is QUAL a good diversifier for CDNS?
Somewhat, no more. With 0.60 correlation, most large moves hit both names, and the diversification benefit stays modest.
What does a correlation of 0.60 mean?
On the −1 to +1 scale, 0.60 describes how much the two returns move together: +1 is lockstep, 0 is independence, negative values mean opposite directions. It says nothing about which performed better.
Use this data
$ curl https://www.pairbook.io/api/v1/pairs/cdns-vs-qual.json
Markdown for the live badge, attribution link included:
[](https://www.pairbook.io/pair/cdns-vs-qual/)
Free with attribution; caching and terms are described in the API documentation.
Related comparisons
Hubs: CDNS correlations · QUAL correlations
