CDNS vs NVDA: NVDA's +3541% Best Signal Compared
How did Cadence Design Systems (CDNS) and NVIDIA Corporation (NVDA) fare under JumpstartSignal's 5-stage screening pipeline across our full 2012–2025 walk-forward backtest? We flagged CDNS 5 times (17 signal days, first signal in 2012) and NVDA 10 times (27 signal days, first signal in 2018). Every entry price, return, and SPY comparison below is from the frozen backtest snapshot.
Head-to-Head Stats
CDNS ✅ OPPORTUNITY Cadence Design Systems · Technology
NVDA 🏆 SPOTLIGHT NVIDIA Corporation · Technology
Per-Signal Returns
Each bar below shows the best return from one signal cluster, held from the entry date through Feb 1, 2026. The SPY return over the same period is shown alongside each entry, alpha is the gap between the two.
CDNS Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 15, 2012 | $12.40 | +2290% | +524% | +1766% |
| Dec 11, 2012 | $13.01 | +2178% | +507% | +1671% |
| Dec 15, 2017 | $43.68 | +578% | +192% | +387% |
| Jan 23, 2018 | $44.86 | +561% | +174% | +386% |
| Jun 11, 2019 | $68.20 | +334% | +163% | +172% |
NVDA Signal Clusters
| Entry Date | Entry Price | Return | SPY Return | Alpha vs SPY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Jan 3, 2018 | $5.25 | +3541% | +187% | +3353% |
| May 14, 2018 | $6.08 | +3044% | +186% | +2858% |
| Aug 6, 2018 | $6.29 | +2939% | +171% | +2768% |
| Oct 1, 2018 | $7.17 | +2566% | +163% | +2403% |
| Nov 30, 2020 | $13.35 | +1332% | +102% | +1230% |
| Aug 19, 2021 | $19.76 | +867% | +66% | +801% |
| Oct 15, 2021 | $21.82 | +776% | +63% | +713% |
| Aug 21, 2023 | $46.95 | +307% | +61% | +246% |
| Nov 21, 2023 | $49.93 | +283% | +56% | +227% |
| May 3, 2024 | $88.77 | +115% | +37% | +78% |
What This Teaches
Which stock a quant system picks more often says more about price-action shape than about the business. NVDA kept printing clean SMA20/50 crossover + breakout-volume setups (10 distinct clusters over 14 years); CDNS printed them 5× in the same window. Same universe, same rules, different output, and that is exactly what a rules-based pipeline is supposed to produce.
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FAQ
Is CDNS or NVDA a better momentum stock?
In our 14-year backtest, CDNS had an average alpha of +876% per signal versus +1468% for NVDA. CDNS produced 5 SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy-signal clusters vs 10 SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy-signal clusters for NVDA.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag CDNS?
Mar 15, 2012 at an entry price of $12.40 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +2290% held to the snapshot date, versus +524% for SPY over the same period.
When did JumpstartSignal first flag NVDA?
Jan 3, 2018 at an entry price of $5.25 (SPOTLIGHT or OPPORTUNITY buy signal). That signal has returned +3541% held to the snapshot date, versus +187% for SPY.
Does this mean one stock is a buy and the other isn't?
No. Historical signal frequency and past returns are not buy recommendations. Our pipeline identifies entries that would have matched the template historically. Past performance does not guarantee future results. Use these pages as methodology research, not investment advice.
Where does the underlying data come from?
All entries on this page come from the R29 walk-forward validated backtest covering 2012–2025 (the 'seo_active' snapshot in our golden archive). Entry prices, returns, and SPY comparisons are computed from Stooq end-of-day OHLCV and frozen at snapshot time. See our methodology for details.