Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) Raised to Strong-Buy at Argus

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) was upgraded by investment analysts at Argus to a “strong-buy” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Barclays reissued an “overweight” rating and set a $115.00 price objective (up from $114.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Friday, January 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $108.00 price target on shares of Nasdaq in a research report on Friday, January 30th. UBS Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $120.00 price objective (up from $115.00) on shares of Nasdaq in a report on Monday, January 12th. Morgan Stanley set a $116.00 price objective on Nasdaq and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 30th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on Nasdaq from $104.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, January 30th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and two have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $103.13.

Nasdaq Price Performance

NDAQ stock opened at $79.01 on Wednesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $95.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $92.33. Nasdaq has a 52-week low of $64.84 and a 52-week high of $101.79. The company has a market capitalization of $45.11 billion, a PE ratio of 25.57, a P/E/G ratio of 1.32 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 1.01 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70.

Nasdaq (NASDAQ:NDAQ) last released its earnings results on Thursday, January 29th. The financial services provider reported $0.96 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.92 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.12 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $1.37 billion. Nasdaq had a return on equity of 16.90% and a net margin of 21.77%.The business’s revenue was up 13.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.76 EPS. Analysts predict that Nasdaq will post 3.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Nasdaq

In other news, CEO Adena T. Friedman sold 300,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $96.39, for a total transaction of $28,917,000.00. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 1,924,903 shares in the company, valued at approximately $185,541,400.17. This represents a 13.48% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, EVP John Zecca sold 4,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, January 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $100.01, for a total value of $450,045.00. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president directly owned 125,674 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,568,656.74. This trade represents a 3.46% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 604,500 shares of company stock valued at $58,440,045 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.70% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Nasdaq

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Front Row Advisors LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth about $25,000. Twin Peaks Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Nasdaq during the second quarter worth approximately $27,000. Tripletail Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $27,000. Access Investment Management LLC bought a new position in Nasdaq in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Westside Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Nasdaq by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. Westside Investment Management Inc. now owns 318 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 159 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 72.47% of the company’s stock.

Nasdaq Company Profile

Nasdaq, Inc is a global financial technology company that operates one of the world’s leading electronic securities exchanges and provides a broad array of products and services to capital markets participants. Its core activities include operating the Nasdaq Stock Market and other trading venues, developing and supplying market technology and matching engines to exchanges and trading firms, licensing market data and indices, and offering clearing, trade execution and post-trade solutions. The company also provides market surveillance, risk management and regulatory technology used by exchanges and regulators.

Founded in 1971 by the National Association of Securities Dealers (NASD) as the first electronic stock market, Nasdaq has evolved into a diversified marketplace and technology provider.